


Shadow of Maybe

by RenkonNairu



Series: Three World Crash [2]
Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Discrimination, F/M, Nothing will ever be the same again, Post-Series, Rin goes to Gehenna, Tolerance, aftermath of disaster
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-09 02:37:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 35,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1965738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenkonNairu/pseuds/RenkonNairu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>-Post Anime Cont.-</p><p>In which the results of the series finale are more far-reaching than anyone originally thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Clean-Up

With a muted growl of frustration, Shura crumpled the newspaper she was reading and threw it at the trashcan to join its brethren. 

Most of the big papers like the Sankei Shinbun (Nationalist Daily), Los Angeles Times, the Moscow Times, the Chosun Ilbo, and Korean Herald were calling it a 'mass hallucination'. Sure. Right. Everyone all over Japan, and from China to Midway, Russia to the Philippines, all imagined they were attacked by demons. Shura gave up on the big name and 'reputable' newspapers. None of them would ever publish anything that came close to admitting what really happened that night -that Satan used a massive Gehenna Gate to try and take over the world. 

She reached for another can of beer and hopped on her computer to pull up some small, more localized periodicals. A psychiatrist in Beijing had been treating a man for several years for attacking people he claimed were 'possessed'. After the incident, the psychiatrist began to see the very same people his patient saw as possessed and committed himself to his own psych-ward. A German family vacationing in Hiroshima returned home after the incident to discover that the woods surrounding their town were infested with villies. A boy in the Philippines claimed to now be able to see ships that weren't really there. And at Midway, people were panicked when they started seeing the ghosts of long dead soldiers from the second World War. 

Almost a quarter of the globe now carried a Temptaint. Almost a quarter of the world's population could see demons and spirits. …And they were calling it a mass hallucination. 

'Idiots! They're all idiots.' She thought as she sipped her beer. 

Leaning back in her chair, her eyes caught the clock on the wall. Its time not quite registering in her mind. She continued to sip from the can in her hand while she looked at the placement of the hands on its face and counted the ticks. Then, light a bolt of lightning, the actual time hit her like a slap on the face. 

"Shit! I'm late!"

…

After the incident, business seemed to have resumed as usual. Yukio resumed his normal rank and position as an Intermediate Exorcist First Class as well as instructor of Demon Pharmaceuticals in the Cram School. Rin and all the Exwires returned to class as if nothing had ever happened. From all outward appearances, it seemed as if nothing had changed at True Cross Academy -nothing except for the giant elephant in the room.

No one made eye-contact with Okumura-sensei as he passed out an assignment. It appeared to be a map of the city with a list of tasks. 

"Okay," he began, "ever since the incident, the Knights of the True Cross have been a little overloaded. Now that almost everyone can see demons, they're being swapped with calls about demons and spirits that have always been around and never harmed anyone. All this extra traffic is making it harder for us to weed out the serious cases that need real attention. So, starting today, and over the next few weeks, your will be going out on 'cases' of your own."

This announcement elicited a low rumble of comments from the Exwires. 

Rin raised his hand. "Cases of our own. You mean like, real exorcist missions?"

Before Yukio could answer, however, Izumo cut in, "Pff, get real. We're still just Exwires. There's no way they'd hand over real work to us. We'll probably just be holding some old lady's hand while she cries at her dead husband's ghost."

"Ms. Kamiki is not far off." Yukio took back control over the classroom. "Because we don't have the manpower to spend on cases where there is no real danger to human life or safety, those calls will be delegated to you. While you're handling all the little old ladies with dead husbands, it will free up the more advanced Exorcists for more dangerous and pressing missions. This will also give you some hands-on real-world experience as Exorcists." 

"T'ch. As if we didn't get enough experience with Satan and the Gate." Rin scoffed. 

Right then, the whole atmosphere in the room changed. Everyone's excitement about going on real missions for the Knights deflated and was replaced by an awkward silence. Rin had mentioned the elephant in the room and now it was all anyone was thinking about. Yukio pinched the bridge of his nose and sat down behind his desk to sulk. The Exwires looked down at their hands or suddenly found random spots on the walls very fascinating. Rin glanced around at everyone, suddenly realizing his mistake. 

Things might have returned to business as usual, but it was only on the surface. Underneath all the appearances and pretense of normalcy, there was a tension that no one spoke about. 

"Have… have you guys been watching the news?" Shima asked after a prolonged pause. 

"My mother has the radio on while she watches the shop." Shiemi replied. "I heard it reached halfway across the Pacific."

"Yeah, and all of China, too." Konekomaru added. "That's a lot of people to carry Temptaints." 

"They're calling it a mass hallucination." Bon crossed his arms over his chest. "That excuse won't hold up for long."

"This morning there was talk of the Red Cross sending people to check the air and groundwater for toxins that might cause hallucinations or hysteria." Izumo's hands fisted over her skirt. 

There was another pause.

Then Rin lifted his head and asked Yukio, "With so many people who can now see demons, what's the Vatican gonna do?"

That was a question that nobody could answer. The Vatican and the Gregori still hadn't made up their minds on what to do about him and his brother. On the one hand, Yukio was possessed by Satan and was used in a plan to fuse the two worlds. Both he and Rin were dangerous to keep around if for no other reason than they were perfect hosts for the King of Gehenna to possess. On the other hand, it was the brothers' combined blue flame that destroyed the gate and saved the world. As Satan was the only one that could open a Gahenna Gate, Rin and Yukio were the only ones that could close one. They needed to keep them around in case Satan tried again. 

The classroom was silent. All eyes were on Yukio now, waiting for an answer to Rin's question. 

"They are still deliberating." He said, finally. "The situation is very complicated. There's never been a precedent like this before."

…

Kirigakure Shura stumbled through the door to the Central Vatican Headquarters, late and stinking of alcohol. 

She was supposed to speak at a private session held for the Gregori to gain a more complete picture of what happened the night of the incident. After Ernst Egin's coup, they were locked in the bowls of the Headquarters under St. Pier Paolo's Basilica and had no idea what went on beyond the walls of their cells. After the threat was already dealt with, they were released into a world turned on its head. Egin was gone, not dead -there was no body- just gone. It was said he fell into the Gate. For a brief time Satan walked the world. Half of Asia and the Pacific now carried Temptaints. The second Okumura twin awakened his demon powers. And no one really knew what to do -about anything. 

Arthur stepped down from the podium when she entered, having -apparently- just finished his own narrative of the events of that night. She wondered what he'd told them. If he was completely truthful, or if he had altered some details due to his preconceived bias against all things demonic and satanic. Did he at least give Yukio and Rin their due credit for closing the Gate and saving the world?

Their eyes met as he relinquished the podium to her and she knew, whatever he said, it did not go well for at least one of the Okumura brothers. Yukio might have helped Rin close the Gate after it was opened, but he was also the one who caused it to open in the first place. Offering to take his brother's place and willingly adding his own blood to the circle. Then going and getting himself possessed. 

'Damn you, you stupid-stupid four-eyed idiot!' She thought. 

"State your name and rank for the record."

She tried to push irrelevant thoughts of Yukio's stupidity aside for the moment and focus on what was important. Making sure that the Gregori knew that is was because of the brothers that they were back in power and still had a world to live in. "Kirigakure Shura, Senior Exorcist, First Class."

"You were on the roof of True Cross Academy the night a massive Gehenna Gate was opened and Satan allowed to walk in the world -hence forth referred to as 'the Incident'."

"I was." She nodded.

"Please recount for this council the events you witness that night and any per tenant details leading up to it."

So she did. Shura told the Gregori how the events leading up to the Incident were orchestrated by Egin. How he separates Yukio from everyone else and manipulated and tricked him into over-throwing the established Papal powers and setting himself up as Pope. How it was Egin who distributed blood absorbing weapons to all the Exorcists and Exwires -to Exwires! children still in training!- and sent them on mission of murder and mass genocide against all demons of any variety. She recounted how Egin then used the blood those weapons had absorbed to create his own Gehenna Gate on the roof of True Cross Academy. 

Here she paused in her narrative. Here was where things started to not look so good for Yukio. Shure tried to make it very clear to the council that Yukio was the victim. That he would not have added his own blood to the circle if Egin -a much older and more cunning man than he- hadn't played on his love for his brother and manipulated him into doing it. 

She then glanced over the part where he was possessed by Satan. She couldn't skip it all together. But she did try to downplay how easy it was for the Demon King to take him over. And she put a much greater emphasis on the fact that it was the brothers' combined effort that closed and destroyed the Gate in the end. If it wasn't for both of them then they would be living side-by-side with demons right now -or worse. Rin could not have closed it on his own. They needed both brothers alive and well in case something like this ever happened again. 

"Will something like this happen again?" One of the Gregori asked. 

"What?" Shura blinked. 

"Prior to this Incident, the only one capable of opening a Gehenna Gate was Satan himself, and he did this vary rarely." The Gregori explained, expression hidden behind his low draping hood. "Now we are told that the Okumura brothers can open a Gate using their combined blood. So, how likely is it that an Incident like this will happen again?"

Yukio might be an idiot and a bit of a chicken. But he wasn't a fool. He wouldn't be opening another Gate again, ever. And Rin had no reason to open one either. So, Shure answered with conference, "Nah. They're loyal to Assiah, the world they were raised in."

"If there is no likelihood of another Gate opening again, then there is no need of the brothers." The Gregori replied. "And since we now know that both of them carry Satan's flame and are durable hosts for his possession, it would be in the better interest of the Order and the world if they were dispatched." 

She gapped up at them, flabbergasted. "Now wait just a damn minute! They saved us! They saved everyone! Is that how ya repay your heroes!?"

"For stopping Satan and closing the Gate, they will be anointed as Saints. But they are to dangerous to be allowed to remain here in Assiah." 

"So, ya've already decided." She shook her head, starring down at her feet. "And they don't even get a chance to defend themselves…"

"There are still a few more witnesses who must speak before we can come to a final decision." They said. "Your feelings are noted, Senior Exorcist Kirigakure. But this council must decide based on what is the greatest benefit to all, not just the benefit of two lost boys."

"Those boys saved everyone!" She shouted back. "Ya can't just-"

"Tag out!"

Shura was cut off abruptly when someone placed a hand on her arm. She looked down to see Mephisto standing next to the podium. "Huh?" 

"I said, 'tag out'." He smiled a toothy grin up at her. "What? You didn't think you and Angel were the only ones they planned on questioning, did you? I saw the whole thing from the best seat in the house! You can't beat an eye witness like that." He gently pulled her down off the podium and whispered for her ears only, "The Vatican isn't the only power in Assiah. Why don't you go ask the rest of the world how they want to repay their heroes before you start arguing circles with these old fossils." He muttered as if he weren't older than everyone else in the room combined. 

"How? No one who wasn't there knows who they are." She hissed back. 

"It was a big fight over a well-populated city center. You figure it out."

…

The paper Okumura-sensei handed out in class featured a map of the city with various arias highlighted in different colors. The city was divided up, not by district as on normal tourist maps, but rather by what areas sustained the most damage from the demon attacks during the Incident. Needless to say, almost everything around True Cross Academy was shaded in red. The surrounding areas were in orange. The areas around those were pink. Then yellow. Not a single bit of the map was white or green, the colors they imagined would be used to signify areas that were okay. The whole city was effected. 

Of course it would be. The battle took place right over the Academy, which was right smack dab in the middle of the city. There was no way for it to not be effected. Every single resident now carried a Temptaint. Every single person who called the city home could now see demons and spirits. 

In addition to the map, was a list of tasks by order of priority. 

1.) Round up the excess coal tars and trolls that entered through the Gate and dispose of them before they can do any more harm.  
2.) Help with the damages and repairs of the town as best as you can. Many buildings that were damaged in the Incident were very old and old buildings often become the homes for many various types of spirits. Usually these spirits are ambivalent, neither harming nor helping humans. But with all the construction going on after the Incident, they might become violent.  
3.) Respond to calls and mission assignments as they are assigned to you. Keep you cell phones turned on at all times. You will be contacted via cell phone with your assignments. If you do not receive a call, continue with either tasks 1 or 2. 

The Exwires paired off with Izumo and Shiemi going to help clean up coal tars in the financial district, Suguro and Shima heading down town for construction (yet, somehow ending up in the Red Light district instead), and Konekomaru and Rin taking the South district. 

"Hey, isn't this where you used to live?" Konekomaru asked as they walked through the unusually quiet and broken streets. 

"Yeah." Rin nodded. "The Southern Cross Boys' Monastery is two blocks down that way and around the corner." He pointed. 

"Did you want to stop in and say 'hi'?" He offered. 

A stray coal tar separated from its swarm drifted in front of Rin's face. He snatched it out of the air with his hand and was about to crush it into nothingness when he paused, changing his mind. He let the coal tar go and watched it surreptitiously float down into an open sewer gutter instead. They were demons of rot and lived in fungus and mold, but they weren't evil. Not like some other demons were truly evil. 

"Maybe later." He answered. 

Konekomaru followed the coal tar Rin let go with his eyes. "We're supposed to be exterminating those things, ya know."

"It wasn't hurting anyone." Rin informed him, as if that should have been obvious. "If we start exterminating demons indiscriminately like they had us doing before, then we're no better than Egin."

Reluctant though he was to admit it, Konekomaru begrudgingly had to agree. They all got a nasty knot in their stomachs back when the Knights gave them all weapons and told them to kill as many demons as they could. Any demons and all demons. Koneko's motives for becoming an exorcist were much the same as Shima's and Bon's. To defeat Satan and restore the honor of their temple, but also the help those suffering from possession or other demonic influence. No part of that included going after demons and spirits that were just minding their own business. 

"I don't disagree…" Koneko admitted. "But there are a lot more coal tars now than there used to be. By themselves they're not worth getting worked up over, but in large swarms they can be deadly."

"Then in large swarms I'll take care of them." He continued walking. 

Koneko stared at his back. Before, Okumora would have been super-psyched to be on a mission. He would have been loud and obnoxious. Proudly proclaiming that he was going to do his best and become a great exorcist. Today, he wasn't doing any of that. "Okumora, are you okay? You're not your usual self."

Rin paused, a denial on the edge of his lips. But he paused. Nodded. "I guess I'm not. I've just been thinking a lot. About demons… and exorcists."

…

"Inari, I humbly beseech thee to grant my request." Izumi summoned her twin foxes to dispatch the coal tars that were swarming over what used to be the financial district. The fungus demons disappeared in a cloud of black dust and here no more. 

With that taken care of, Shiemi with Nee's help, treated the wounds of any people that were out and about that could have been affected by the rot spores. 

"Kyaa! They have more monsters with them!" A woman screamed as Shiemi knelt down next to her with Nee.

The blond Exwire blinked at her in confusion. "What? More monsters? Don't worry, Kamiki and I will take care of them!" She stood up, ready to defend the people from the new threat. But there are no other demons or spirits that she could see. There was just the broken street. The sooty buildings with their cracked windows, Izumo and her foxes, and the terrified looking people. "Where do you see more monsters?"

"She means us." Izumo supplied, stroking one of her foxes under the chin. "They've never seen a familiar before. They don't understand we summoned them to help."

"Wh-what?" Shiemi looked back at the woman she was attempting to treat. "Oh, no. Nee's not evil and neither are Izumo's foxes. We're exorcists and these are our familiars. We're here to help. Now, let me treat your wound."

The woman still shied away from her, continuing to look scared and glare skeptically at her. The others sported similar expressions on their faces. It seemed none of them were convinced that the two teenage girls with the monster partners were here to help. Shiemi couldn't really blame them. Just a few short days ago a giant Gate had opened up over the city and flooded the streets with monsters. People would need time to recover from the event alone. But they didn't get that time because, as a result of that Incident, now they could all see the monsters and spirits that had always been living around them. 

They didn't understand what was going on and they were scared. 

"Stay away from me!" The woman screamed and crawled away from Shiemi to cower next to a large man in a torn suit. 

"How do we know your monsters won't hurt us?" He asked. "You're just kids, you couldn't possibly control them. All we see are monsters and two little girls who are two stupid to know how dangerous they are!"

"That's not true!" Shiemi argued back. She did not take to confrontation well. But every now and again, when she felt very strongly about something, she could be a firecracker. "You can't assume they're bad just because they're demons! That's not fair! Its no different than thinking someone's a criminal just because they're black! Its wrong! I know plenty of nice demons! In fact, two of my closest friends are half-demons!"

Izumo placed her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Leave them be, Moriyama. Lets go. The coal tars are gone and they don't want our help anymore. There's no need to waste our time on morons who don't want us."

…

Shima and Bon both lifted the heavy jizo statue and set it standing properly again. Jizo statues guarded the souls of dead children and helped prevent them from becoming vengeful ghosts. Several jizo statues were knocked over, or even destroyed, during the Incident and now those spirits were riled and angry. 

Waving to the foreman, Shima said, "Tell your crews to try and work around these statues if you can. And if you find any more that are knocked over or broken, come and get us. We'll take care of them." Then, as an aside to Bon, "Hey, I wonder why there are so many Mizuko Jizo statues in the Red Light district anyway." 

Bon just looked at him. "Is that a serious question?" This was the Red Light district and Mizuko Jizo guarded the souls of aborted fetuses. "C'mon. Lets get some water from the volunteers' booth."

There was a reporter from the TCN at the volunteer's table when they arrived, interviewing the volunteers and construction workers that came for water and sandwiches. "Sources have tracked the epicenter of the phenomenon to this town." She was saying. "And it looks like some kind of big battle happened here. Care to comment?"

"It was so scary!" Said one of the volunteers, a girl wearing the True Cross school uniform. "There was the small of wet mold in the air and then I began to see all these black bugs, except they didn't look like normal bugs. More like… more like the dust-bunnies from Totoro, only they weren't nice. Another girl in my class, Paku Noriko told us not to breath them in or else they'd rot our lungs and to stay calm she had friends that would help us. I was so scared!" 

"But Paku's friends came, just like she promised!" Said another volunteer, this on a boy, also wearing the True Cross uniform. "They were kids just like us and were wearing our school's uniforms only one of them was carrying one of those old priest staff, ya know, the kind with all the rings that jingle. They took us to this weird place place full of all these old stone tunnels and used light from the other side of the world to kill all the monsters!"

On second thought, perhaps it was not the best idea to get water from the volunteer's table at this exact moment. Not when there was a reporter there to bother them and classmates that could identify them. 

"Well, that sure is some exciting story, kids." Replied the reporter. She then tuned back to her camera man and continued, "As you can see, while experts maintain that these events have been caused by mass hallucinations and hysteria, the locals are still convinced that what they saw actually happened. We're still waiting for the authorities to finish their air and water quality reports. Maybe we'll have a better understanding of the situation once the guilty toxins have been identified. This is Kisaragi Ami reporting for TCN."

…

Yukio turned off the TV. 

All that they ever seemed to report on these past few days was the Incident and frankly, he was tired of hearing about it. He just wanted to know what the Gregori's decision about him and Rin was and be done with it. 

"They're a good group of kids, ya know." Shura commented from the doorway. 

She hadn't made a sound when she entered, but Yukio sensed her the moment her absurdly huge boobs passed through the door. A faint prickling on the back of his neck telling him he was being watched, the scent of perspiration and Ladies Sport Stick, and -just recently since his demon powers awoke- the sound of skin bouncing against skin. He supposed these pointed ears were good for something after all. 

"While Rin and I were busy trying to take down the Gate, they were running 'round protecting the people."

"I heard." He nodded to the TV. He was proud of his students. But there was something else on his mind that was more pressing. "Have the Gregori come to a decision yet? Is that why you're here?"

She shook her head slowly. "No. They're still dragging their asses." She crossed the room stare directly into his eyes. "But its not lookin' good for ya. Chicken, I'm worried. Ya saved the world, and they want to make ya Saints. But the thing about Saints is…" 

"They have to be martyred. They're planning to kill us."

"They haven't made a final decision yet, but its lookin' that way." She nodded. 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Yukio sighed. "Is there anyway I could convince them to just kill me and leave Niisan alone?"

"I don't want you to die either!" She snapped. "Listen you four-eyed idiot, I don't know what you're deal is, but acting all selfless and shit isn't going to make this situation any better. If you recall, it was acting selfless and offering to take over for your brother as sacrifice that lead to this mess in the first place! So cut it out! Got me?" She took a breath and began massaging her the sides of her forehead. "Jeez, all this worrying… you're gonna give me stress-lines. And I'm only eighteen…"

"You're twenty-six!" He reminded her. 

"Nuance." She brushed his comment aside. She had a young looking face and so would continue to claim she was a teenager until she couldn't pass for one anymore. "My point is, don't be so afraid of the Gregori that you go making more rash decisions and getting yourself and everyone else in deeper shit than they were before. As Mephisto reminded me just today, the Vatican isn't the only power in Assiah. Don't go signing your life away just because they think you'd make a better Saint than an Exorcist." 

Yukio paused. "What other powers are there in Assiah?"

"I'm still trying to figure that one out…" She confessed, crossing her arms over her chest, making the swell of her oversized breasts all the more pronounced. 

Averting his eyes and hoping the blush didn't show on his face, Yukio thought aloud. "Powers in Assiah… Well, there's religion, that would be the Vatican."

"Politics." Shura suggested. "Two things you don't discuss in polite conversation are religion and politics. So, politics have got to be another power. The government. You and Rin are both citizens of Japan and your minors. Killing you would be murder. People wouldn't like it."

"People!" Yukio realized. "The third power in Assiah is people. Popular opinion. The mob." 

Shura nodded. "Yeah. That too, I guess. So we got politics and popular opinion. Two things that have managed to challenge the Vatican rather well in the last two hundred years, I think." She smiled at him, suddenly hopeful. "Don't go throwing in the towel just yet, Chicken. I'm gonna see if I can get ya to hang around for a while longer. So don't go doing anything stupid, 'kay?" She turned to leave. "By the way, I like the new ears. They're cute and they distract from your moles."


	2. Reflection

The Exwires met back up at the school for lunch. 

While the Cram School was open and active, the public face of the school, the True Cross Academy that the rest of the city recognized as a prestigious private school was closed do to the 'emergency'. So they had the run of the grounds. Rin put together a quick meal for everyone, nothing special. Just macaroni in a butter and cheese sauce with peas and leeks, garlic bread, and a parsley garnish. Nothing big or fancy. 

"Nice to see recent events haven't dulled his cooking skills." Shima commented. The mac n' cheese was so good, he looked like he was about to cry. "The rest of the world might be off its head, but our Okumura is still the same."

Shiemi politely swallowed before she added, "I think I like this even better than your curry!"

"Really?" Rin's eyes filled with stars of praise and he beamed at her fondly. "I can show you how to make it, if you want. Should I come over to your shop once we're finished with today's assignments?"

"Okay!" They smiled goofy smiled a each other. 

Izumi sighed and turned away from the display. She honestly couldn't tell if they were both just that into food, or were so socially awkward that that was their version of 'flirting'. Either way, it was embarrassing to watch. Konekomaru set his tray down to sit next to her, he didn't find the spectacle of their 'flirting' embarrassing. 

"He's acting much more like himself than he was earlier." Commented the diminutive Exwire. "I'm glad. I was actually considering starting to worry."

"Huh?" Izumi blinked at him, brushing one of her pigtails off her shoulder. "Why? Did something happen while you were out?"

"No. Not anything in particular." He admitted. "Just… He wasn't his usual energetic self. He was really quiet -pensive."

"Pensive, him?" She laughed. "Oh, I don't think that word means what you think it means. There's no way that guy could get lost in deep thought! I bet he doesn't even have deep thoughts." A pause. "But its nice to see Moriyama laughing again too. Our mission wasn't so nice either. Some morons didn't even want our help because they were afraid of our familiars. I think Moriyama took it personally."

Konekomaru nodded. "Now that almost everyone is able to see demons, I have a feeling we're gonna be hearing a lot more of that. But you can't really blame them."

"Can't really blame who?" Rin and Shiemi brought their trays to sit down with the other two. 

Shima and Suguro likewise joined the group. They had the whole lunchroom to themselves, they all six opted to squeeze into one table. 

"I was telling him about those people today." Izumi explained. 

"Oh. Them." Shiemi's bright smiled faded into a much more sober grimace and she placed her hand over Rin's under the table.

He looked down in confusion at their joined hands for a moment, then decided it was best no to press his luck with the physical contact and so neither withdrew his hand nor moved to hold hers in return. Rin didn't want to run the risk of scaring her away. Hah! He bet Yukio never got to hold her hand under the table before! He kept his arm as still as possible when he asked, "What people from earlier today? Were they mean to you?"

"Well, yes and no." Shiemi paused. "It wasn't that they were mean, just that they didn't want our help because they were afraid of Nee and Izumo's foxes. I tried to explain to them that we were here to help and that they were our familiars, but nobody wanted to listen. We had only just met them and they had already made up their minds that Nee and the foxes were evil and Izumo and I were just stupid girls being manipulated by the demons."

"Well, can ya blame them?" Shima offered a light smile in an attempt to diffuse her sulking mood. "Up until last week, they had never seen a demon before. Now they see them everywhere and they're scared. They don't have the training or knowledge to know what's going on, so they decide that anything new is going to be bad. They didn't meant to hurt your feelings, Moriyama, they were just trying to protect themselves without actually knowing how."

"I have to agree with Shima." Koneko nodded. "I know exactly how they feel. It can't be all that different than how I felt after we all learned that Rin was Satan's son. Rin's not a bad guy, but after learning that, I couldn't see him as himself anymore, all I could see was his satanic heritage and remember all the horrible things Satan did. But I came around and now we're friends again. I think the people of this city just need a little time to get used to what they're seeing."

Rin looked down at his plate, not making eye-contact with any of the other Exwires at the table, his dark mop of bangs hiding his expression. He wanted to share some of his most recent thoughts and reflections on demons and Gehenna with them. Tell them that this kind of discrimination against demons based solely on the ground that they are demons and nothing more has been going on since before the Incident, just no one seemed to notice or care back then. 

But that train of thought eventually brought him to the conclusion that combining the two worlds wasn't such a bad plan after all. That Satan might have had the right idea, even if he went about it in the wrong way. Rin promised Yukio he wouldn't voice those thoughts outside their dorm room. Especially not right now, before the Gregori have even made a decision about them. Such options would not reflect well on either of the Okumura brothers and Rin wasn't going to do anything that could endanger his little brother. They'd had enough danger to last themselves two lifetimes, thank you very much. 

"But you're forgetting something, Koneko." Suguro set his fork down and rested his elbows on the table, lacing his finger together in front of him. "Because of your fear of Okumura and the conflict in your heart over it, your spirit was weakened and you were possessed by a demon. Or did you forget the Gufu that nearly killed us? How many more high-level demon possessions are we going to start seeing now because people are scared and conflicted? Just giving people time and hoping they'll adjust on their own isn't the right way to handle this. People need to be educated instead. So that they know exactly what's going on and that nothing's really any different from how it was before at all. All the demons they're seeing have always been there. The only difference is now they know they're there."

Rin could have kissed Bon if he wasn't still such an insufferable know-it-all sometimes. The man was right. Just sitting on their asses and waiting for the rest of the world to wake up wasn't gonna solve anything. Suguro had voice Rin's own feelings perfectly. There was just one flaw. There was a lot of discrimination towards demons before the Incident. The people who could always see them, the people who were actually in a position to educate the public, already had a preconceived prejudice against all things demonic. So, educating people still wouldn't work if the ones doing the educating were just teaching them more fear and hate.

"There… there was a lot of demon discrimination before the Incident." He muttered over his food, not speaking to them directly, but still just loud enough for the rest of the table to hear. 

"Huh?" All eyes at the table looked at him. Under the table, Shiemi's grip on his hand tightened -he still did not squeeze back.

"Remember when they gave us all weapons and told us to kill as many demons as possible?" He snarled, looking up at them finally. Meeting the eyes of everyone in turn. "And before that, too." He continued. "Sometimes I'd tag along with Yukio on his missions even though I'm still just an Exwire and he would be so intent and focused on destroying the demon or spirit that he won't even try to consider why its stirring up trouble in the first place! Hell! Even when I met Kuro, Yukio was gonna try and kill him when all the problem was, was that he was sad and didn't know how to grieve over my dad's death!"

He brought a fist down on the stainless steel lunch table, making a large dent in its over wise smooth surface. Everyone's lunch trays clattered and butter and cheese sauce splattered on uniforms. Nobody reached for a napkin yet, however, as they were all to intent on Okumura. 

"Demons aren't all that different from people." He continued. "They care about things just like us. They get scared just like us. They miss people when they go away. Just like us! They're not monsters, they're just misunderstood! But everyone -even before the Incident, everyone- seems unwilling to take the time to understand that. Instead they just 'shoot 'em all and let God sort it out'! That's the idea I see most Exorcists operating under!"

"Rin…" Shiemi was holding his hand in both of hers now. 

He took a deep calming breath. He'd said more than he meant to. Yukio would lecture him. "Sorry, guys. I guess I'm also having a hard time adjusting after everything that's happened." He withdrew his hand from Shiemi's, collected his tray, and stood. "I'm gonna call Yukio and tell him I'm not fit to continue the day's assignments. Sorry, Konekomaru, looks like you're gonna have to be the third wheel on a team today. I better go…"

He deposited his half-eaten meal in a waste can, placed the tray back in the kitchen, and left.

…

Kisaragi Ami was not a particularly remarkable reporter. But she did do her job diligently. Upon hearing about Paku Noriko, Kisaragi set out to find this girl who claimed to have some prior knowledge of the apparitions that appeared all over the city and beyond. 

Did she really believe that a teenager knew more about the phenomenon than the well educated and 'experts' and 'specialists' that were offering alternate explanations (explanations that did not involve the paranormal)? No. Teenagers were often given over to fanciful delusions or prone to make up the most absurd stories for attention. But the volunteers she interviewed were not the first to recount the story of being evacuated into an ancient-looking tunnel system by students wearing the True Cross Academy uniform. Paku was just the first actual name that was dropped and so it was her only real lead. 

She found the girl helping another group of volunteers passing out water bottles. She was a plain thing, not un-pretty, but not particularly beautiful either. She did, however, have a sort of quiet strength to her and that was what struck Kisaragi, so that she identified Paku as the one she was looking for even before introductions were made. 

"Hi, I'm Kisaragi Ami from True Cross Network. Are you Paku Noriko?"

The girl looked startled for a moment as to why a reporter would be looking for her, but she nodded all the same. "Yes. Did you need something?"

Kisaragi put on her most easy-going smile. "Just a moment of you time to sit and talk. Would you mind?"

Paku glanced at her fellow volunteers, silently asking if they could manage on their own for a bit. They were just passing out water and granola bars, its not like it was difficult work. They sat on the curb to talk. A small cloud of coal tars passing by just as they settled in. Kisaragi put her hand over her nose and mouth to keep from breathing any in -apparently those little things would rot her lungs- while Paku seated them away as if they were no different than flies. 

"I hear you were quite the hero." Kisaragi began. 

With a dainty flush of her cheeks Paku nodded. "I caught your earlier broadcast over the radio. But I didn't really do anything special. The real heroes were my friends." 

"Tell me about them." The reporter prodded gently. 

Paku smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but I'm not really allowed to do that. You see, a lot of the stuff I'm sure you want to ask is gonna be oath-bound. You know, secret." 

Kisaragi pursed her lips and decided to change her tactics. "Alright then, in that case, let me tell you what I already know. If I already know about the secret stuff then there's no problem if you talk about it with me. You wouldn't be the one telling me so no oaths are broken." 

"Okay." That sounded alright. 

"I know that you appear to have knowledge of these things-" she indicated the coal tars "-beyond what everyone else seems to know and that you have friends that are able to effectively combat them -one of which carried a monk's staff which tells me that these things are spiritual in origin. Or at least, your friend with the staff believes they are. I also know that your friends -and possibly you yourself- have access to an underground 'catacomb' of sorts that you used to evacuate as many people as possible." 

Nodding, Paku confirmed, "Yes, that's all true." 

"Alright, now to the questions. I'll just ask you 'yes' or 'no' things to start off with and if you can't answer a question because of your oath just say 'pass', okay?"

"Okay." She smiled. 

"Witnesses say you were all wearing the True Cross Academy uniform. Are you all students at the school?"

"Yes." Paku nodded.

"Are the tunnels you evacuated to part of the school?"

At that, she paused to think. The Japan branch was located under the Academy, and that was where they held the Cram School classes. But it was mostly run and controlled by the Vatican, not any reputable school board. Heck, the school terms even ran on different schedules. So… "No. That are is not part of the main True Cross Academy."

"Is it associated with the school?"

Another pause. This time not to consider what the correct answer was, but rather whether or not she should answer. Would she be breaking the promise she made when she dropped out to keep the Exorcism school a secret? Or does is not really even matter at this point since a quarter of the world can all see demons now anyway. The Vatican's 'secret war' on demon kind wasn't so secret anymore. "Yes."

"In what way is it associated with the school?"

"I'm sorry, that's not a 'yes' or 'no' question."

"Alright then, lets talk about your friends. Are they all monks?"

"No, just three of them. The others are other things."

"Are they all some denomination or another of believes in the paranormal?"

"Yes."

"Do they all believe the things we are all seeing now, as well as the Incident that gave rise to them are rooted in the supernatural?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me exactly what I'm seeing now since that Incident?"

"Yes." Paku offered a sympathetic expression. This woman might be a reporter hunting for a story, but she's also a resident of True Cross Town and was just as affected by the Incident as everyone else. "What you're seeing are demons, creatures from a world called Gehenna. Or spirits. The natural kami that exist in all things or perhaps the ghosts of the dead that are unable to pass on. They've always been around, nothings really changed except now you can see them." 

"Why?" That wasn't a yes or no question and they both knew it. But it was the only possible question to follow that up it. It was also the main question on everyone's mind. Why are we all seeing these things all of a sudden? What happened during the Incident to cause this? What even was the Incident in the first place?

"Because everyone's got a Temptaint now. That's a would that's been inflicted by a demon. Whether a little coal tar blew into your eye or you were bitten by a gnome, it all has the same basic side-effect. You were touched by a demon, so now you can see them. But its not really something to worry to much about. They've always been there and you've always been fine. They're nothing new. The only thing that's changed is you."

"What happened to cause this?" Kisaragi asked. They had good and truly abandoned yes or no questions at this point. "What was the Incident?"

"Well, you might find this difficult to believe. But…" Paku took a breath, pausing to gather he thoughts and think of the best way to expelling this to a person who knew nothing of demons and Exorcist or Gehenna and Assiah. "That world I mentioned, the world where the demons come from -Gehenna- well, its got this King who wants to cross over into our world. As I understand it, someone from our side was a colossal idiot and opened an uncommonly large portal between Gehenna and Assiah -this is, between Gehenna and our world- and the Demon King -along with hoards of his demon subjects- came through. The King was more-or-less defeated and push back to Gehenna, but by that point the demon hoards had gotten so far that almost half of Asia now carries a Temptaint."

"Wow." Kisaragi commented. "That's some story. How do you know all this?"

"I, uh… I used to be in training to be one of the people who fights demons. But I wasn't suited for it, so I quit." She explained. "My friends who did most of the evacuating were the ones that stuck with their training. I'm told it was two of them who finally defeated Satan -um, who finally defeated the Demon King."

"'Satan'? As in 'the Devil'? A fallen angel from Western mythology? You're telling me he's real." She looked skeptical. But, at the same time, it really wasn't any more or less crazy than some of the other theories and explanations floating around. Why not roll with it? At least it was different. "And two high school aged kids defeated the Devil? Wow. I wanna meet these kids."

…

Splashing water on his face, Rin braced his fists on the sides of the sink and watched the water circle the drain. 

Darn it all to heck. And he told Yukio he wouldn't mention any of his most recent thoughts out loud -at least not until after the Gregori finally made up their minds about them. He didn't go all the way and tell them that he was starting to think that combining the two worlds wasn't such a bad idea. That was worth something… right? But Yuki would still be cross with him either way. 

It wasn't even a year yet since his demonic powers were awakened, he learned he and Yukio were actually the Devil's children, and Father Fujimoto died protecting him from Satan. At the beginning he thought all demons were the same as Satan -pure evil. But over the past few months through both school and tagging along with Yukio he learned that, that original conception was not true. Kuro loved their Dad and now Kuro loved them. He was a great companion, better than any normal house cat could ever be. Part pet, part friend, part brother-in-arms. Kuro was a demon, but he wasn't evil. 

And at Cram School he learned that Exorcists themselves used demons to help them combat the bad ones. Izumo's foxes could be a little rude sometimes and seemed a little reluctant to follow her leads, but that could just as easily be a failing on her end as much as theirs. Izumo was nice once you got to know her, but Rin could not deny that she was still just a little bit of a bitch. But her foxes were still nothing even close to evil. Lazy, sometimes bratty, yes. But certainly not evil. 

Shiemi's baby Greenman wasn't evil either. In fact, her little demon familiar was probably the most helpful asset to their team. Without Nee-chan, they all might have died back when they were all still Pages, back during the Exwire Exam. (Or at least, have to be bailed out by the staff and all failed.)

Then there was himself and Yukio. 

Admittedly, Rin sometimes questioned the his own moral virtue. He didn't think himself to be 'evil'. But at the same time, people have been calling him a 'demon' or 'demon child' almost all his life. He wasn't very good at using his head and thinking things through and rushed into things before he even knew what he was doing. It was what lead to all of the fights he would get into or how he would lose control back when he was younger. So, Rin wasn't quite sure about himself. He didn't think he was evil, but he couldn't objectively examine himself. 

Yukio on the other hand, Yukio was as far from evil as one could get and Yukio had just as much demon blood in him as Rin himself had. They were twins after all and shared the same father. It just didn't appear that way for the longest time because, while his flames were always there, just sealed within the Koma sword, Yukio's demonic traits remained latent and hidden until just a few days ago during the Incident. He had just as much demon in him as RIn did, but he wasn't evil. 

So, not all demons were evil. 

Not all humans were good either. 

Rin already knew this. One of his classmates, Shiratori Reiji was one of the single most cruel creatures he'd ever met in his life. He delighted in shooting pigeons for shits and giggles, kicking puppies, ripping the wings off flies, and poring salt on snails. It was no surprise that the bastard was possessed by the King of Rot. He was rotten inside. 

But Shiratori was a small-fry. The great big example of human villainy that stuck out in Rin's mind was Ernst Egin, their maternal grandfather. Who crucified one of his grandsons and tricked the other into slitting his wrists. Pooled their blood and opened a Gate to Gehenna. Weakened Yuki's heart to the point that Satan was able to possess him and nearly caused the destruction of the world as they knew it. That was human evil. 

Good and bad existed in both peoples of both worlds. Demons were no different than humans. Of that, Rin was sure. There was no real reason for the two to hate each other so much. No reason other than, 'They're not from around here. They must be bad.'

"Maybe things would have been better off if the two worlds did combine…" He muttered to the empty sink. 

With a sigh, Rin straitened, reaching for a towel to dry his hands. But the moment he raised his head and caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror, he jumped back. 

The face that looked back at him was his face and yet it was not his face. There was something wrong with the reflection. It was his face, but it looked a bit older, the hair was longer, the ears long like they were when his sword was unsheathed, and the figure was writhed in blue flame. Rin looked down at his hands to make sure he had not somehow drawn power past Kurikara's seal, but there was no blue fire radiating from him. He reached up to feel his ears. Pointed, but not long like they were in his demon form. He was normal -or at least as normal as he's been since the day Fujimoto died. 

He looked back at his reflection whom he concluded was not actually himself but some sick vision from Gehenna. "What are you? Go away!"

The reflection said nothing. It was just a mirror and could not speak. But it did smirk. Halfway between cunning and satisfaction. It made Rin's blood freeze. Then, just like that, the strange reflection in the mirror was gone and Rin was looking at himself once again. His true reflection, normal hair length, normal pointed ears, no flames. Just a nervous and slightly shocked expression on his face. 

What the hell was that!?


	3. Reporter

As Mephisto said, the Vatican and the Gregori weren't the only power in Assiah. After speaking with Yukio, Shura concluded that the other two powers were politics and popular opinion. She had no gift for politics however. She didn't understand the finer workings of a governing body, nor did she have any compelling desire to learn. As far as she was concerned, politicians were worse than Satan and the Vatican combined. So then it was popular opinion that she would turn to in order to save Yukio and Rin. 

She was a cute girl and no one could resist a cute girl. On top of that, she was a Senior Exorcist and was present on the roof during the Incident. She could give the rest of the world the answers it so desired. What happened that night? Why? Who saved us?

Now she just had to make herself presentable. 

Shura was not a fan of the official uniform given to the Knights of the True cross. The long coats were heavy and hot, very uncomfortable. She much preferred the air-flow and freedom of movement her Daisy Duke-style shorts and bikini top provided. Not to mention, the heavy coat got in the way of her sword when it needed to be drawn. But, she didn't plan of doing any fighting at the moment. So, she bit the bullet, put on a real bra and a real shirt with pants that actually went down past her thighs and threw the coat on over it all, pinning her Knights' badge to the lapel.

The hair was also a bit of a problem. The two tone umbra color wasn't exactly traditional. But she didn't feel like darkening it to a more natural or conservative color just for this, so she decided to just leave it as is and hope for the best. She did, however, forego her normal ponytail. Opting instead to pull it back into a sever no-nonsense bun. Yes, she looked significantly more reputable now. 

Using the keys issued to her, Shura made her way over to the Academy to see Mephisto. It was his idea -sort of- he should know how to put her in touch with the appropriate media to tell the world that they owed their lives, well-being, and very souls to the brothers Okumura. 

But there was already someone there when Shura barged into Mephisto's office, unannounced and uninvited. 

Shura recognized her from the news, though though the woman's name escaped her at the moment. Mephisto, for his part looked bord and slightly harassed, but he perked up the moment Shura entered the room. 

"Ah! Kirigakure-san, perfect timing! Perfect timing!" He flashed her a toothy grin. "Come in. Let me introduce you. This is Kisaragi Ami, a reporter from TCN. Kisaragi-san, this is Kirigakure Shura, a Senior Exorcist and one of those present during the Incident. Kisaragi has been badgering me to give her the names of two students she thinks had something to do with the Incident. I've been trying to explain to her that as Director of the Academy, I can't in good conscious give away the names or information of my students to people other than their parents or legal guardians."

"But my sources tell me that these boys are heroes!" Kisaragi insisted. "Don't you want them to receive the recognition that they deserve?"

Once again, Mephisto looked over Kisaragi's shoulder at Shura. "As you can see, Kisaragi-san, much like the rest of the world, is very interested in the details of the Incident. Perhaps she might benefit from talking to an Exorcist such as yourself."

Shura nodded ever so minutely, just enough for Mephisto to notice. She put on a friendly smile and bowed politely to Kisaragi. "I also want them to get recognition for their bravery. But you have to understand, Kisaragi-san, they're still just children -children who have been through a lot already. The last thing they need is to be dragged out into the open and thrown in front of a continent full of terrified and confused people."

Admittedly, Kisaragi wanted exactly what Shura wanted -for Yukio and Rin to get the recognition they deserve as the saviors of the world that they were, thereby gaining the popular opinion they would need to stand up to the Gregori's ruling. The Gregori couldn't kill the world's heroes without losing the world's trust and favore, and by extension their power in Assiah. But at the same time, because people would want to know how they closed the Gate, and because of their satanic lineage, any information released about them would have to be very carefully phrased and presented in a certain way. 

Before Shura could trust Kisaragi with Yukio and Rin's identities and information, she first had to decide whether or not this woman could be trusted. 

"You make it sound like I'm going to throw them to the mob." Kisaragi commented. 

Given the sensitivity of the information about the Okumura brothers, that could easily turn out to be what happens. But she was willing to give Kisaragi a chance -after she was properly vetted. "Why don't we discuss it over drinks, Kisaragi-san?" 

…

Yukio found Rin with Ukobach in their dorm's kitchen preparing dinner. 

"You were 'unfit' to finish your assignments?" Asked the younger twin, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the doorframe in the kitchen doorway. He watched his brother's back straiten at the query. The little stove sprite whom was gently folding butter into some type of batter glanced up at the other demon, then back at Yukio. He moved his batter to another area on the counter where he continued mixing, out of the way -give the brothers their space. 

Rin looked sheepish. He paused in peeling potatoes to look back at Yukio in the same way a dog might look after his master has found the puddle of pee he left on the brand new white shag carpet. "Uh, well, see… We were breaking for lunch and the topic of conversation was -of course- all the people who can now see demons and the debate over fear or education came up, which lead to demon-discrimination, which almost got me mentioning that thing you told me not to mention until we know what's gonna happen to us. So… yeah." 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Yukio stifled a sigh. This was classic Rin, doing and saying things without thinking. 

"But I didn't say it." The elder brother added. "I stopped myself before we could get to demons walking with humans and combining the worlds. Do I at least get points for that?"

Yukio supposed he should give his elder brother credit for that at least. He didn't mention that he starting to agree with the lord of all evil. Congratulations. Do you want a cookie? But that meant that he did still swing on a tangent about poor miss-treated demons, and how humans hated them simply for not being human. Yukio didn't necessarily disagree… But this was a sensitive time -for everyone- and especially for them. If it got back to the Gregori that Rin was now harboring sympathies for the demons of Genheena, then their deliberations would not end well for the brothers. 

"Niisan, I need you to be more carful of the things you do or say." He groaned, suddenly reminded of all the fights Rin would get into before coming to True Cross. How it had effectively ruined his life, causing him to lose job, after job, after job. Only now, instead of losing a job, his lack of impulse control would lead him to an execution, not just unemployment. "This isn't like before where you can mess up and Dad or I will patch things up afterwards. Do you understand? If the Gregori don't like the way you're thinking, you could die!"

"I get that!" Rin snapped back. "Its just… I've never really been all that great at keeping my feelings in check. You know that."

If Yukio was going to say anything else in response to that statement, he didn't get the chance to. Both brothers were suddenly distracted by the entrance of a very familiar voice calling for them. 

"Hello? Um, I'm sorry to barge in like this, but there was no answer at the door and it wasn't locked so I just let myself in." Shiemi's face, flushed with embarrassment, appeared in the kitchen doorway behind Yukio. "Although, you really shouldn't leave your doors unlocked. Its not safe! Just anyone could walk in like I just did."

"Aw, don't worry about it." Rin smiled a goofy smile and laughed an awkward laugh. "Yukio and I could kick the crap out of anyone who even tried."

Not that they would look forward to the idea. Yukio preferred to avoid conflicts and violence if he could. 

"Oh. I suppose that's true." The girl nodded, placing a hand to her mouth daintily. "After all, you two did defeat Satan."

At that reminder, Rin stopped laughing and the atmosphere in the room turned sober and pensive, just as it had when Rin mentioned it in the classroom. For the appearances and presences of all things returning to normal after the Incident, no one was actually recovered from it. 

"What brings you here, Shiemi?" Yukio asked, in an attempt to steer the topic of conversation away from the events of that night. 

"Oh. Well, at lunch today, Rin offered to come over to my house and teach me to cook like him. But since he left early I thought it would be a little unfair of me to make him come all the way out to where I live, so I came to him!" That sweet smile was once again on her face. "That is… if you still want to teach me."

"Are you kidding? Of course I do!" Rin insisted. It was the perfect excuse to spend some quality time with Shiemi. Even with all the other crap going on right now, the Gregori deliberating on what to do with them, the rest of the world now aware of the existence of demons, and his own shifting views on humans and Gehenna -even with all of that going on, he still would not want to pass up the chance to be alone with the girl he was crushing on. "Lemme get you an apron. Tonight I was planning on making potatoes au gratin. It usually tastes best with pork or steak, but meats expensive and Yukio and I are on a fixed income, so I was just gonna serve it with a green salad." 

"Okay." She nodded, coming into the kitchen fully and taking the apron he offered. "What can I do to help?"

Yukio smiled. Rin might be thoughtless when it came to his own actions. He might have almost no impulse control to speak of. He might get into fights or blurt things out without thinking. But he was good guy and genuinely enjoyed being a good guy. Shiemi helped reenforce that goodness that was inherent in him. She calmed the beastial nature of his demonic side and cheered his human half when he was feeling down. They were a good match together. 

Continuing to lecture his elder brother wouldn't be appropriate now that they had a guest. Yukio turned to leave the kitchen, leaving them to their own devices. Rin would call him down when it was time to eat. 

"Ah, Yuki, you're leaving?" Shiemi called after him. 

With an apologetic smile on his face the younger twin nodded. "Yeah. I have a stack of reports from today that need to be gone over. With so many people now able to see demons, we still don't really have a clear picture of the scope and extent of the results from that night. Until we know that, we can't even begin to educate people on what's really going on."

"Oh. I see." She nodded and offered an encouraging smile. "Well, good luck. Don't work to hard."

He smiled back and left the kitchen. 

Rin, for his part, was trying to pretend he hadn't just heard her ask Yukio not to go. Which, admittedly, she hadn't asked him not to go, she asked him where he was going. But that small nuance was lost on the demi-demon as he peeled his potatoes. He liked Shiemi almost from the first moment he saw her, tending to her grandmother's garden. A lovely maiden in a wash of colors and light. But she was already smitten with his brother. It was a messy situation. Why were matters of the heart always so messy?

"You like him, don't you?" Rin asked. Muttered was more like it. His attention still on the potatoes, not looking at her. Speaking to the bowl of brown peels. 

Shiemi looked at him, for a moment confused. "Well, yeah. He's my oldest friend. I like you too, Rin. You and Yukio are probably my best friends. Even better than Izumo and Noriko, I had to really work for their friendship. But you and Yukio… it just came so naturally. And I don't make friends easily, so that really means a lot to me."

He set down the potato he was working on, tossing it back into the bowl and laying his peeler down on a napkin on the counter. "What if… what if I don't want to be your 'friend'?"

At that statement, Shiemi's face fell and she looked as if she might cry. But she did not. "You say that a lot." She muttered. "I don't understand you sometimes. You're so nice to me. You stand up for me against others. You tell me not to let fake friends take advantage of me. You offer to teach me to cook. For pets sake! Before you even learned to control your flames, your fire never burned me, I even managed to get you to calm down a couple times. Then you go and say you don't want to be friends? I just don't understand you sometimes, Rin!"

Ukobach once again looked up from his work. Shook his head at the human's obliviousness and went back to mixing. 

Shiemi took a deep breath. "I have much more of a backbone now than when you first met me. So, I have no problem now saying that, that's not fair. Sending mixed messages like that will only hurt people. Not just me, but yourself too."

"Shiemi…" He began, unsure of how to explain. He wasn't really so good with the words. Actions were more his forte. Rin's knee-jerk impulse was to close the distance between them and kiss her. But she was such a timid little thing (most of the time) that taking the wrong action could frighten her away from him forever. "Listen, I… I don't want to be your friend… that is, I don't want to be just a friend to you because I'd rather be your boyfriend!"

His face felt hot. Were his flames out? No… no blue aura. This must be what humiliation felt like. She was gonna reject him. Yup. He knew it. She didn't like him like that. She liked his brother. Yukio always got all the girls. Rin was never popular with the ladies. He only ever scared them away. And that's what he'd just done with Shiemi. She was gonna run screaming now and never come back. His life was over. Just kill him now.

"Oh, Rin… I had no idea!" She was still there. She hadn't run screaming from the dorm. That was a good sign. "All this time… I thought it was because you didn't like me because I was timid and soft-spoken. I didn't think you'd want a weak friend."

"You're not weak!" He was quick to remind her. And she wasn't. She might be soft-spoken and gentle, but she was very strong. It was just a quiet strength. The kind that was meant to edure, protect and defend. Not the kind that was meant to attack and fight. She was nurturing, loving, and sweet. But she wasn't a push-over and (with the exception of the start of her friendship with Izumo) didn't let herself get taken advantage of. All those things made her strong. "I just thought I should back off a bit because you like Yukio more than me. But that's okay. Yukio's a great guy and he's always been more popular with the girls. So, I'm used to it."

"Oh, Rin…" And then, because honesty is always the best medicine. "I did like Yukio." Then she quickly followed it up with, "But that was before I enrolled in the Cram School. After he became my teacher, my perceptions of him changed. I still like him, but not like that. Not anymore. It would be weird. Besides, aren't there rules about teachers and students dating?"

Oh yeah! He hadn't thought of that! Yukio might be the same age as all of them, but he was still their teacher. That put him in a position of power over all of them. Any sort of romantic relationship between him and one of his students would appear to be an abuse of that power. Rin on the other hand was a student just like her. They were peers. Equals. A relationship between the two of them would gain much more approval than a relationship between her and Yukio. Suddenly, things were looking up. 

"So, then… Do you wanna, maybe, date me?"

There was a pause that lasted one… two… three beats of silence in which the two just looked at one another. 

When Shiemi didn't respond he pressed, "Is there someone else you like instead?"

"No." She had to admit. "I don't really have any special feelings for anyone else. I love all my friends equally."

"So then… Why not try dating me? At least until you figure out if you really do like me like I like you, or if you like someone else. Who knows, we might be soul mates!"

That statement elicited a giggle from her. That was probably the cutest thing Shiemi had heard him say. Ever. He might be the son of Satan. He might have shattered the Gate to Gehenna and saved the world. But he was still just an optimistic and probably naive teenager -just like she was. They were the same. Maybe she could start to like him as more than just a friend. "Alright. Lets date. Do you still wanna take me to the amusement park?"

"Hell yeah!" He practically skipped with giddiness when he said that. "That'll be our first date!" 

"Great." 

That settled, Rin went about teaching her how to make potatoes au gratin. He felt happier and more optimistic than he had in a long time. The world was suddenly a bright happy place full of wonderful possibilities. 

…

If Yukio noticed that the two of them kept blushing like fools during dinner, he did not comment on it. 

Not that he would have had much chance to. It seemed like no sooner had they sat down and taken their first bites before another uninvited guest barged through the dormitory's main door and started stumbling around the common areas before she finally found them in the dining hall. 

Shura shambled into the cafeteria, leaning on the door frame, stumbling to the nearest table, leaning on the table… all the while, a second woman none of them had met before was leaning on her. 

"Oh, hai, guyz!" She slurred. Eyes red and bleary. Even from half-way across the room they could smell the alcohol wafting off of the two of them. "Dere's some'un I wan'cha ta meet. -hickup- Zis, ish Kisa… Kisa… uh… Zis is Ami. Ami-chan here's gonna make ya guyz heroes! Like, real an' proper, like! -hickup- Uh… I'm gonna yack!"

And she dumped Kisa-whatever Ami leaning in a heap over the nearest table and ran strait for the restroom. Shura just barely made it inside the door, however, before they all heard the tell-tale sound of retching and splatter of tile that told them all that she hadn't made it to a toilet stall in time. Damn it. One of them was going to have to clean that up!

Shiemi, for her part, while the boys were still staring dumb-founded by both the stranger Shura had dragged into their home and the mess said demon sword master was making in their bathroom, she was already up and out of her seat. With a small pick with the table knife and a rustle of paper, she summoned her baby-greenman familiar, the demon Nee. Politely asking him for a little ginger.

While Shiemi had never drunk alcohol before, and thus, never been drunk, she did work in an herb and spice shop meant to provide homeopathic remedies as well as supply local Exorcists. So, while she had no first had experience with hangovers, she did know that the ginger would help ease Shura's nausea. Especially if it was brewed into a tea and mixed with orange or lemon juice and honey. 

"Rin, do you have any lemon or honey?" She demanded. 

"Uh… uh, yeah. We got honey." He nodded, getting up from the table and disappearing back into the kitchen. Shiemi followed him with Nee and the ginger. 

Sighing with exasperation, Yukio similarly stood. Only instead of retreating into the kitchen with his brother and student, he cross the room to the woman Shura left on the table. Checking her pulse and breathing to make sure she was actually just passed out and not dead. Then he repositioned the woman so she would be more comfortable and moved one of the cafeteria trashcans so that it was positioned below her face. Just in case she also felt the need to hurl her guts all over the place. One puddle of puke was more than enough for him to have to clean up in one evening. Thank you very much. 

Satisfied that the stranger didn't need any more immediate attention, he went to check on Shura. 

The first thing he saw upon entering was exactly what he expected to see. A large puddle of chuncky vomit on the floor. Right in front of the doorway so that it was near impossible to enter the bathroom without stepping in it. Yukio did his best to try and maneuver around it, only getting the tinniest of bits on the tips of his shoes. He found Shura on her knees in the nearest stall, door thrown open, head in the toilet, puking more. 

"When are you going to learn?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest behind her. Honestly. She was supposed to be eleven years older than him, yet more often than not, he felt like the adult who had to take care of her -the irresponsible teenager. "You don't hold your liquor as well as you think you do."

"Shuddup!" She snarled over the toilet bowl. "Em helpin' ya!"

Helping. Right. Cause it was so helpful to barge into someone's home while they were sitting down to dinner, drunk off your ass, and puke all over their floor. Yeah. Real helpful that was. But there was no sense arguing with a drunk. They didn't understand logic. Yukio would have to wait until she was sobered up a bit before he could have a proper conversation with her. He hoped Rin and Shiemi hurried up with whatever it was they were doing. Yukio was not one given to using profanity often, but in this case, the phrase 'sloppy bitch' seemed applicable. The sooner he got these sloppy bitches sobered up and out of the dorm, the better. 

"Ya cud be a gennaman and hold ma hair bak." She suggested. 

Her hair was already in a ponytail, she didn't need a gentleman to hold it back for her. What she really wanted was company and moral support. With a sigh or resignation, Yukio swallowed his frustrations with her, knelt down and gathered her mane of red and gold umbra hair in his hands. At least her hair was clean. It felt light and silky between his fingers. Idly, he thought she should wear it down more often. She would look pretty with it framing her face. But then he reminded himself that that wasn't practical. If her hair was lose, flying every which way, it would impede her vision or get caught on something, it would become a liability. 

"Sheez a reporer." Shura informed the toilet water. Then wretched again. "Kisaragi Ami. Sheez a reporer wid TCN."

"Don't talk right now." Yukio commanded. If he understood her correctly, the other woman she brought with her was a reporter from True Cross Network. He didn't know what Shura was thinking, bringing a reporter to them. But then again, she wasn't exactly in the best state of mind at the moment. Thoughtless decisions were to be expected. 

"Sheez gonna make ya heroes!" Shura insisted. "Da Gregori can't kill ya if yar heroes. They can't kill da world's heroes!" She raised her head from the toilet bowl and wiped her mouth. Turning to look directly at Yukio, her bleary-eyed stared meeting his clear crystal-blue one as if willing him to understand something she couldn't and wouldn't put into words. "They can't kill ya. I won' lettem. I got yer back!"

Then, she promptly fell asleep on his chest.


	4. Morning

Not for the first time since the Incident, Yukio was woken by the sudden and terrifying feeling that something was in the bed with him. Something furry brushed up against his leg!

With a start the young Exorcist leapt from the bed, clad only in boxers and a T-shirt. He snatched up one of his guns from the nigh stand and pointed it squarely at his bed sheets where he saw… nothing. There was nothing in the bed. Not for the first morning since the Incident, Yukio stared in confusion at an empty bed where he expected to see a goblin, a nezumigami, a dust sprite, or other similar small and fuzzy spirit or demon. But there was none. 

Then he remembered his tail. 

Since being possessed by Satan, his demon blood was finally awakened. His ears were pointed, his canines elongated into fangs, and his spine extended into a long goat-like tail that ended in a tuft of long dark fur. It was his tail that had woken him up. Just as it had almost every morning since the Incident. He knew this was going to take some getting used to, he just wasn't used to it yet. How did Niisan handle this?

With a sigh, Yukio glanced over at the elder twin's bed, expecting to receive some form of teasing. But Rin was still fast asleep. That boy could sleep like the dead sometimes. 

…

For a moment, Shura didn't know where she was. 

This most certainly did not look like the small on-campus apartment Mephisto provided for her when she became a teacher at the Cram School. It kinda looked like an old school dormitory. Only it was in disuse. The mattress she was laying on was bare. No sheets to speak of. No pillows either. The window, likewise had no curtains and the morning light charged right in on an attack vector aimed right for her eyes. It lanced through her pupils to stab at her brain with a shooting pain no human was meant to endure. 

Just how drunk was she last night?

Attempting to get up, Shura rolled over on the mattress and promptly vomited all over the hardwood floor. 

Apparently, she had been very, very drunk last night. 

Lifting her head, she realized there was another woman in the room's other bed. Then it all came back to her -more of less. 

She went to see Mephisto. Since it was his idea to find and use another power in Assiah to combat the Gregori and save Yukio and Rin from being Sainted, she figured he already had a plan. Whether he actually did or if it was just a highly convenient coincidence she didn't know, but when she arrived at the pragmatic demon principal's office, there was already a reporter there and, as luck would have it, she was also looking for the Okumura brothers. It seemed like serendipity. But Shura would be remise if she didn't vet the woman before exposing Yukio and his brother to her. So, Shura plied her for information the best way she knew how (that didn't involve torture). She took her out drinking. 

Lots and lots of drinking. 

People became very open once they got a few drinks in them. 

Shura learned that when she was younger, Kisaragi always wanted to be a Magical Girl. But was forced to accept that magic just did not exist and since she couldn't be a Magical Girl, or a Princess, or a witch, she became a reporter. She said it was because that was the best way to have an exciting life -like a Magical Girl, or a witch- yet still stay safe and insulated from the danger -like a Princess. If Shura had wanted to be any of those things when she was younger, 'reporter' would not have been the career she would have chosen. But she did have to admit that Kisaragi's logic did make a weird kind of sense. Get excitement like a Magical Girl by covering stories of violence, panic, or destruction. But still stay far enough away from the actual danger-zone to as to not be in harms way. Protect the Princess. 

Then talk turned to Shura being an Exorcist and what exactly happened during the Incident. Even in her inebriated state, Shura was pretty sure she was careful enough not to let slip that Yukio and Rin were the children of Satan. Instead she called them 'special' and 'gifted'. Kisaragi seemed impressed and wanted to meet them. Not just because they were a hot story that would advance her career exponentially, but also because 'how often do you get to meet real life demon slayers!? That's freakin' awesome!'

After that, there was a bout of female bonding that Shura hadn't intended. 

'No, I totally get it. You're right. A thirty-year-old guy can sleep with a teenaged girl and he's a fucking hero for it. But an older woman has feelings for a younger man and suddenly she's some kind of social pariah! Its totally a double standard!'

After that they were fast friends. 

Also, Shura was pretty sure they might have made out in an effort to earn a couple of drinks for free. 

As a kindness to her new best friend, Shura took her heavy Exorcist's coat -which she really didn't end up wearing all that long yesterday- and draped it over the open window with its offensive light. That done, she ventured out of the room to discover that they were indeed in an old dormitory of the True Cross Academy. The school crest was on a standard issue fire extinguisher mounted on the wall. Since it appeared that the building was mostly abandoned it was safe to assume that this was Yukio's dorm. Cool. She had brought them to the right place last night. Shura would be lying if she didn't admit that that was lucky. 

She made her way downstairs to the dining hall in search of water. 

And look who was already up, and dressed, and looking like he was ready to face the day. Seriously. There should be a law against being as much of a together guy as Yukio was. He was to uptight, and uptight people got possessed easily -as he had already demonstrated. Sometimes, she just wanted to tug his tie lose or pop the first two buttons of his shirt. He needed some slouch and mess in his life. 

With a groan, Shura plopped down in the seat across from him. The small stove spirit that lurked their kitchen came up and slid a tray in front of her. She looked down at the strange smelling tea and sliced bananas over plain rice. "What is this? Monks' food?"

"No. Its drunks' food." Yukio informed her, as if this should have been obvious. He continued eating his own breakfast of jewel-cut albacore tuna over rice with tamago and miso soup. "All that puking you did last night, you're body probably needs potassium. And the tea was made with loving care by Shiemi last night. Her summon provided the lemons and ginger, you're just lucky Niisan likes to stock honey in the pantry." 

Shura glared down at the mug on her plate. Lemon, ginger, and honey tea. That was going to taste revolting. 

"Think of it as a punishment for making Niisan and I clean up your filth last night." He added. 

She glared murderously at him from across the table. 

"If you won't eat or drink anything we put in front of you, then I won't listen when you tell me about your reporter friend." 

Swallowing a snarl and a few choice remarks about his character -mostly using only four letter words- Shura picked up her tea and took a sip. It was terrible. Truly terrible. The ginger made it spicy, the honey made it sweet, and the lemon made it tart. Thee things that should not go together. Sweet and tart, sure. Honey and lemon was a hot totty, a normal drink. Spicy and sweet, that was good too. Lots of people used honey and ginger as a dipping sauce. But all three of them together? No. Just not. It was a steaming cup of no. 

Chancing another glare at him, Shura looked up from her cup of no to see that Yukio was rather unconcerned. He'd opened up a newspaper and began reading the latest developments on what the rest of the world thought the Incident was. Calm, together, four-eyed bastard! Idly, she thought about throwing her tea in his face. Just to see what he'd do. 

Then Yukio turned to look at her again and smiled an obnoxious smile. Halfway between sweet and sadistic. 

This time, Shura did not suppress the snarl that escaped her lips. But she took a bite of her banana instead of voicing any of the words that rose to mind. 

It was then that Rin joined them. Yawning. Shirt not tucked in. Tail hanging out for all the world to see. Mop of dark hair messy and uncombed as if he'd just rolled out of bed. Which he probably had. Kuro trailed behind him, his two kitty tails twitching back and forth with anticipation as he smelled the tuna from today's breakfast. 

"Morning." He sat down next to Yukio and Ukobach supplied him with the same breakfast of jewel cut tuna over rice, tamago, and miso soup. "Wow! Thanks, Ukobach!"

Suddenly he was awake and ready to face the day. 

"They've concluded that there's nothing in the air or ground-water that would cause hallucinations in so many people over such a large distance." Yukio reporter from over his newspaper. It was unclear whether he was speaking to his brother or to Shura, or if he was just making a general announcement just for the sake of making a general announcement. "They're now looking for alternate explanations. The chairman of the Nergal corporation is suggesting aliens from Jupiter, while another group calling themselves 'Seele' is suggesting its part of some obscure Dead Sea Scrolls prophesy."

"T'ch. Not even sorta close." Rin scoffed. 

"Yes, but between the two of them, I think Seele is closer. At least their theory is based in mysticism and not science fiction." Yukio shrugged. Unconcerned. 

Kuro jumped up on the table and began pawing at the brothers' tuna. 'Rin, can I have some?'

"Sure." The elder brother picked a tiny jewel cut and placed it on his napkin for the cat sidhe. 

'That's it?' He blinked up at him in disappointment. 'Shiro would have given me more.'

"Tell ya what, Kuro." Yukio began. "There's another person upstairs in one of the unused bedrooms. She's Shura's friend from last night. If you can go up there and lead her down here without letting her wander to much or get lost, I will give you…" He began portioning out jewels of tuna until a quarter of his were moved to his napkin. "… this much tuna."

The cat sidhe looked at the offered amount, then thought about what he had to do to earn it. 'These terms are acceptable. Be right back!'

…

The sensation of soft fur rubbing against her cheek was nice. Kisaragi sighed at the sensation. Soft fur. A warm body. Gentle purring. Cats were wonderful creatures. Anyone who didn't like cats had a problem with life. 

Slowly, Kisaragi opened her eyes to see a black cat staring back at her with wide golden eyes. She sat up, intent to pet the adorable little cat, only to regret the motion half-way before completing it. A swirling storm of dizziness hit her the moment she tried to move and a piercing headache stabbed through her skull. She hadn't drank this much since college. She hadn't been this hung-over since pledging to Phi Beta Kappa -who later rejected her. 

The cat mewed at her. Pawing at her shoulders. Attempting to get her to move again. But every sound that came out of its mouth, every prod with its paw, just made her hang-over worse. All she wanted to do was lay back down and vomit then die. 

However, the cat had other plans in mind for her. He wanted her to get up. After several more moment of mewing and pawing, and just generally being an annoying but adorable kitty, she cat jumped off the bed. It glared up at her for a moment, as if to say 'you brought this on yourself'. That is, if cat's could talk. Which of course they can't. A lot of weird shit had been happening since the Incident, but Kisaragi was fairly confident in the belief that cat's could not speak. 

Then the cat turned into a giant fucking monster-cat and the idea of talking was thrown from her mind. 

She jumped out of bed. "Holy fuck mother balls!"

The sudden burt of adrenaline at seeing the adorable little kitty turn into a great and terrible beast stayed off the nausea and headache long enough for Kisaragi leap from the bed and slip on Shura's vomit from earlier. The giant demon-cat seemed to sigh with exasperation at that and picked her up in its giant mouth, being very carful to carry her by her clothing and not actually harm her skin with his razor teeth. Normal humans were not as durable as Rin was. 

Before Kisaragi was even fully aware of the fact that she was now being held in a monster's mouth, she found that the giant cat had carried her out of the room, down the stairs and to what looked like cafeteria. The beast then dropped her none to gently back on the floor and turned back into a cute little unassuming house cat again. It hopped up onto the only occupied table in the whole dining hall and mewed expectantly at a boy Kisaragi didn't recognize. 

"Well, that's not exactly how I imagined. But a deals a deal." He set down a napkin of tuna in front of the cat whom began munching on it contentedly. 

"Hey, Ami, get your ass off the floor and come sit with us!" Shura she recognized. The exorcist she'd met the previous day and become close friends with over drinks. Also, the reason for her current state. 

Kisaragi picked herself up and staggered her way to sit at the table with Shura and the two boys she hadn't yet been introduced to. A short person she assumed must be a demon placed a tray in front of her. Bananas over rice and some foul smelling tea. Being served breakfast by a demon, wow. But then again, after being carried down here in the mouth of a giant monster cat, that didn't seem so strange anymore. 'Strange' was more of a relative term now since the Incident. 

"Thank you." She muttered only because she had no idea what else she should do. She took one bite of banana, decided she was to nauseous to actually eat and put her chopsticks back down. She looked back at the cat, munching happily on his tuna. "Your cat has two tails."

Shura patted her on the shoulder. "Yes. Now drink the awful tea."

Kisaragi took a sip of the ginger-honey-lemon tea. Made a face. Put the cup back down. She glanced at everyone else gathered at the table. None of them seemed to be bothered by the fact that their cat had two tails and could transform into a giant monster or that their food was served by a small demon man. She looked at the two boys, they couldn't be any older than high school age. But then, it was high schoolers that were supposed to have defeated Satan. "Are you two Exorcists too?"

"He is. I'm still just in training." Said one. "But who are you and why'd Shura bring ya here?"

That made Kisaragi's eyes pop. Admittedly, she had only just learned that things like Exorcists were real only just yesterday and still wasn't exactly sure what being an Exorcist entailed. So she didn't really know what age was an appropriate age for someone to become certified as an Exorcist -and she didn't even know if certification was what one needed to be one. But, she was pretty sure that slaying demons and fighting Satan was not a job for children. "But you're both so young! Unless… are you two the two? The two that stopped the Incident and saved everyone."

"What?" The one with the glasses put down his chopsticks to stare at her. "How could you know that?" No sooner had he asked this question, however, than he turned a suspicious eye to Shura.

"Hey. Don't ya glare at me, ya four-eyed Chicken! She already knew a lot before I got to her. She is a reporter after all, they're kinda nosy by nature. Ain't ya ever read a Sumerpan comic? Lois Lane, man." Then to Kisaragi she said, "I ain't sayin' they are those two, but there are two of 'em, and they did happen to be there at the time. Ami-chan, this is Okumura Yukio and his twin brother Rin. Yukio's a pain-in-my-ass-four-eyed-know-it-all and Rin's just an idiot. But they're good kids."

"Oh. Um. Hajime mashite." Kisaragi bowed politely, if a little awkwardly. 

"Ah… Dozou yoroshiku." Rin replied half heartedlty. 

Yukio kicked his brother's leg under the table. "While your detective skills are admirable, Kisaragi-san, the battle of good and evil between Exorcists and demons for the soul of humanity is not supposed to be common knowledge. I'm sorry, but now that you seem to be recovering from whatever you did with Shura last night, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Kisaragi took another sip of the foul tea and leaned across the table at Yukio. "Well, like it or not, Okumura-san, as of the Incident, your battle just became public knowledge. That's something you can't escape. It was a gigantic and devastating event and it happened right above a large metropolitan center. Blue fire rained from the skies, swarms of Totoro-dustbunnie-like things filled the air, people were attacked by all kinds of monsters. Things like that don't just get swept under a rug." 

As if on cue, Kisaragi's pocket pinged with a text message. She paused long enough to dig it out and read whatever text she'd just received. Then she looked back up at Yukio, holding the screen up so that he could read the message from her producer. 

"Especially not now that the network just acquired footage of the Incident. We live in the digital age, my boy, did you really think that -even amid all the chaos and panic- not one idiot with a cell phone or iPad stopped to snap a picture or take a video?" Kisaragi drained the last of her tea and stood. "But I will leave now that I've finished my tea. I've got to get to work. It was nice meeting you, Okumura-san, Okumura-san. I look forward to talking with you more. Perhaps after I've seen the video and drafted up some interview questions. Shura-chan, last night was fun. We need to hang out again some time. Text me."

She left.

No sooner was Kisaragi out the door then Shura banged her own tea cup on the table in irritation. "Damn it, Chicken! You ruin everything!"

Rin raised his hand, confused. "I'm sorry. But what just happened here?" 

Shura sighed. "You two are on thin ice with the Gregori right now." She began. "They appreciate the fact that you destroyed the Gehenna Gate and saved the world, but they can't ignore the fact that both of you are now proven to be durable hosts for Satan to walk the world again. They can't decide what to do with you but they're leaning towards killing you and not taking chances. To save yourselves, you two are gonna need a power on your side that's influential enough to challenge the Vatican. The only things that are as powerful as religion are politics or popular opinion. So, unless one of you wants to run for Prime Minister, you want reporters like Ami on your side!"

"So, wait… you think if we become teen idles it'll keep the Gregori from executing us?" Rin asked skeptically. He suddenly had a vision on himself standing on a stage surrounded by stands of screaming fans all holding signs proclaiming their adoration for him, or throwing flowers on the stage at his feet, a backstage full of groupies, tours, money, personal assistant, a nice easy lifestyle. 

Rin didn't realize he had started laughing maniacally until Shura threw a banana at him. "No, idiot. You need talent for that. But you can be heroes."

"I admire your intensions, Shura. But we can't come out as the ones who closed the Gate without having to explain how we did it." Yukio reminded her. "Western faiths such as Catholisism aren't as prevalent here in Asia, but I'm still pretty sure people would take issue with Niisan and I being the offspring of the very demon who tried to destroy them in the first place."

"So we fudge a few details." She insisted. "You're not the 'spawns of Satan', instead you're 'extraordinarily gifted', or 'blessed with uncommon gifts'."

"Burning white hot pathos!" Rin suggested. He was still liking this idea, even if he didn't get to be an idol with armies of screening fans. Being a hero was pretty cool too. His new vision featured himself standing triumphantly atop a crumbled ruin, holding the Koma Sword aloft with one hand, his other arm wrapped protectively around Shiemi whom -within the context of this daydream- was clad in a flowing white wester-style gown and virgin flowers in her hair. 

Shura threw another banana slice at him. "'Pathos' means a quality that evokes pity. Such as constantly using worlds without knowing what they mean."

For the most part, Yukio started ignoring the elder twin, he wasn't exactly mentally present for this conversation -off daydreaming instead- and even if he where here, Rin would miss the important details anyway. Like the fact that all of this could go very bad for them, very quickly, with no forceable contingencies. Yukio continued to glare at Shura. "Why are you so adamant about this?" 

"Pff. That should be obvious." Shura scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, making her breast bounce. "Look, you might not trust Kisaragi, but then, you don't trust people easily anyway. I know you can't quite understand this, but we got drunk together and that carries great meaning for me."

Yukio raised one eyebrow. "You made out with her, didn't you." It was phrased as a question, but he meant it as a statement. 

"There might have been some tit-grabbing action." Shura admitted. "But that should just show you how comfortable I feel about this."

Before anyone else had a chance to reply, Yukio's cell began to ring. "Yes?" A pause. "Understood." He ended the call and stood from the table, depositing his tray in the kitchen. "I have an assignment. We'll continue this conversation later. This isn't over Shura."

"Something serious?" Rin asked. He was finally finished with his fantasy trip and ready to rejoin the conversation. 

"Nothing to terrible -at least, not as bad compared to recent events." He explained. "One of the parishioners of our monastery is possessed -probably do in part to the Incident."

"On no! Who?"

"Do you remember the little girl you saved from being bludgeoned by falling cans at the grocery you worked for, for -like- a day?" 

"Not Yui-chan!" Rin gasped. Truth be told, he'd only ever interacted with the girl that one time -when he saved her from a cascade of falling canned goods after chasing a goblin through out the store for her scarf. Rin would never forget it because it was the first time he'd ever seen a demon before. In a way, Yui-chan was the beginning of everything for Rin. 

"Don't worry. Yui's not possessed." Yukio assured him. "Its her father. Ikari-san."


	5. Goblin

The Ikaris were parishioners of the Southern Cross Monastery since before Rin could remember. He never really spoke to them before he saved their daughter that day, but he'd seen them around. Father Fujimoto officiated at their wedding and Yui-chan's baptism. Ikari Koyo was active on the planning committee for church functions and helped put together their annual women's bible camp (which Rin did not attend -for obvious reasons- but he did help lift and carry gear and help the ladies pack it in the cars). She also organized the Easter Picnic and Egg Hunt and originally came up with the idea of having a safe and clean party at the monastery on Halloween rather than allowing the children to go out trick-or-treating. Ikari Souta was a deacon at the church for a short while before before his work became to demanding on his time and he had to step down. 

Both were active in the church and the community, so Rin had seen them around. A lot. 

But he never really ever spoke to any of them until that day. Ikari-san was so sure his daughter was just a scatterbrained klutz. The idea of his sweet, innocent little Yui being bullied didn't even enter into his head. After all, who could bully such a cute little thing? But when Rin told him that it wasn't klutziness, that Yui-chan was being bullied -pulling her hair, stealing her possessions like the scarf from that day- Ikari-san was ready to charge off to the PTA right then and there. Like any rational human being, he did not believe things like demons actually existed. They were just metaphors from scripture, used as examples of temptations to lead people astray. 

Of course, ever since the Incident, Ikari-san could now see everything that Yui-chan saw and he knew that demons were real. Demons were real and they had been tormenting his little girl for almost her entire life. 

The house was a mess when Rin and Yukio arrived. 

Normally, the Ikari home was a small but well kept house. Only one story tall with a small garden in the front where Koyo liked to grow rosemary and sage. But the sage bushes were gone when Rin and Yukio arrived. Sage being a natural ward against most negative forces, it would have had to be the first thing to go before any member of the family could be possessed by a demon. 

Koyo was waiting for them outside. Yui-chan and Ikari-san were nowhere to be see. 

"What's the situation here?" Asked Yukio. 

"Oh, Yuki-kun!" Koyo sobbed. "Souta just went crazy! He's locked Yui-chan in her room and all the windows and doors in the house. He won't even let me in! He just keeps saying he has to protect our little girl."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad." Rin commented. 

Yukio shot him a dark look while Yui's mother looked as if she was going to break down and cry right then and there. On any normal day -without possession or demon involvement- the situation she described was cause for alarm. Throw in a little paranormal meddling by wandering spirits, homeless kami, or demons and what was a delicate domestic disturbance suddenly becomes a dangerous beetle for the souls and bodies of all involved. 

"When did this start?" Continued Yukio. 

Koyo pursed her lips, thinking. "He went crazy this morning." She said. "But… This has been building since the Incident, I guess. Yui always used to be so clumsy, always falling down stairs or losing her lunch boxes and scarves. She used to tell stories about bad fairies teasing her or taking things from her. Souta and I never believed her. Then the Incident happened and Souta and I started to see her bad fairies too… I guess… I guess Souta is just trying to protect her from them. But… but there's something wrong with him!"

"It sounds like he's been possessed by a corrupted guardian spirit." Yukio explained. "Normally, guardian spirits are benevolent entities. They protect temples and shrines, or even just specific families or individual people. During the Incident, a lot of old structures were destroyed. The guardian spirit would have been made homeless. It might have sensed Ikari-san's desire to protect his daughter from the demons that tormented her and decided to help him. But his own fear and confusion might have corrupted it. Resulting in this."

"Wow. Nice nut-shelling." Rin commented. 

Koyo wasn't impressed by Yukio's concise explanation. She just wanted her daughter back and her husband to stop acting so strangely and volatile. "Can you do something!?"

Before either of them had the chance to answer, they were distracted by a small hobgoblin hopping up on the garden wall. From the wall it jumped up to the roof. From the roof it swung down to a window, using the inertia of the swing to force the window open. 

"That thing." Koyo growled. "That's the monster that's been hurting my little girl! It keeps trying to get into the house. And Souta keeps forcing it back out again. That's one good thing about this, at least. He's been keeping that thing away from my daughter."

During the on-set of Rin's awakening, all demons of the same species looked the same to him. One coal tar looked like every other coal tar, one goblin looked like every other goblin. But now, after spending so many months immersed in the demon-Exorcist world, he learned to recognize individuals within the same species and Rin recognized this one. Short with a face like a monkey. It was the same hobgoblin that stole her scarf at the grocery! What was the same goblin doing hanging around her still? And why was it so adamant about getting back into the house?

There was a flash of light and the goblin went sailing back out through the window it had just entered. 

"Hey, Yukio," Rin muttered so that only his brother could hear. "How common is it for the same demon to keep going after the same human?"

"Its not uncommon." His brother replied. "A demon might latch onto a particular person because they provide a steady supply of something they feed off of such as fear, envy, self-doubt, etc. Or because the demon might recognize something in the human that appeals to them, or they might consider kindred. Why do you ask?"

"Because that's the same goblin from before." Rin informed him. 

"That's not significant." Yukio brushed off the information. As he already said, it was not uncommon for a demon to latch onto a particular person. To Koyo he said, "I'll need to get inside the house."

Koyo nodded gravely. "Souta has all the doors locked. He won't let anyone in -not even me."

"I see." Nodded Yukio. "The first thing we need to do is convince Ikari-san that we're not a threat." To Rin he said, "Niisan, maybe you better hang back for this one. While I know you always have the noblest of intentions, you don't know how to be delicate with a situation."

Rin made a face of displeasure, but sat down on the curb (sulking) anyway. He may not like it, but even he had to admit that Yukio was right. He was far to direct with his handling of matters -all matters- and with a child's safety in the balance, one needed to approach the situation with greater care and tact. This was basically a hostage negotiation where the terrorist's demands were the safety of the hostage. "Fine, fine. Call me when you're ready for me to save your ass."

With a nod, Yukio returned his attention to the house. Getting past the garden gate was no big challenge. It swung open at his touch, a tad slowly, and with an ominous creek. But with no resistance. The garden itself, however, was another matter entirely. Where once there was rosemary by the garden gate, roses along the walls, and sage leading up to the porch, there were now only thorns and fruitless-brambles.

As an experiment, Yukio loaded a clip of holy ash bullets into his gun and fired at the nearest thorny vine that lay across his path. With a slithering hiss, the vine and its thorns shriveled and crumpled into dust. So, these were not the plants of the the world, native of Assiah. They were born from Gehenna -the work of the spirit possessing Ikari-san, the first line of a barrier to keep people out and away from Yui-chan. 

Yukio looked up from the garden path. A large paw print, like that of a large cat was burned into the door. Another cat sidhe like Kuro? No. They did not possess people. Some other guardian cat then? A temple lion?

Rin, for his part, was already bored. Nothing sucked more than being told by his younger brother to stay out of the way and wait outside. He thought about striking up a conversation with Koyo, but while they were members of the same church, they didn't really have anything in common beyond that. On top of that, she didn't look much like talking. She stood, feet planted, starring at her house, biting the nail of her thumb. She was to concerned with the state of her husband and safety of her daughter to talk to any one at the moment. 

Then a movement in the corner of his eye caught Rin's attention. 

It was the same goblin, trying to get back in again. Yukio said it wasn't all that out of place for a particular demon to latch onto a particular person. But unlike Yukio, Rin was still new to all of this and found the idea rather curious. That, and ever since the Incident he wanted to gain a better understanding of the relationship between demons and humans. Rin intercepted the goblin before it could make it over the garden wall, smacking the lesser demon down with his sword -still held within its red travel-bag. 

"Oy." He said, glaring down at the little demon. "Leave the kid alone."

'Don't get in my way!' The goblin snarled back. Its mental voice was younger than Rin imagined it would be. I made the demon sound almost like a child or a very young teenager rather than a centuries old monster. The paused, looking up at him. 'Wait a sec, I know you. You were that guy from the grocery. You saved Yui from the avalanche. Thanks. Now go away!'

"Huh?" Rin blinked back at the creature. This was the first time he'd ever heard of a demon that was not an Exorcist's familiar or a Tamer's summon that was protective of a human. "You're trying to save Yui-chan?"

Then why was he tomenting her so many months back?

'She's my playmate!' The goblin replied as if this should have been obvious. 'If the tall man takes her away, who will I play with?'

With that, the goblin pushed past Rin and climbed back up the garden wall. to seek another entrance into the house. 

So… all those months ago when the goblin stole her scarf, he wasn't trying to be malicious? When he lead her and Rin on a chase through the grocery, it wasn't out of any sort of malevolence. He was just playing? Some game of Keep Away? Or Catch Me If You Can? The goblin wasn't trying to hurt anyone, he just wanted to play. Then Rin remembered what Yukio said in class. That goblins were tricksters and mischief-makers. Mischief. Not malice. They weren't evil, just badly behaved. And this one -if the sound of his mental voice was any indicator- was still just a child by demon standards. This wasn't a case of a demon tormenting an innocent girl. This was two kids trying to play together only one of them didn't quite grasp the idea of how to 'play nice' with girls or weaker kids. 

Now knowing that, Rin thought he had a better grasp of the situation than Yukio did. Perhaps it was a bit egotistical, but -with this new info- he thought he could diffuse the situation much better than his younger brother.

"Alright. I'm gonna help you save your palmate." Rin informed the goblin. "But after Yui-chan's safe, you and I are gonna have a conversation about playing rough with girls." Glancing up and down the street to make sure no one's attention was on him -it wasn't, the only person out was Koyo and her attention was focussed on the house- Rin made sure no one was watching when he drew a trickle of power past the seals of Kurikara and flared his flames. Just enough to give weight to his words. "And you will listen to me when I tell you not to play rough with girls."

The goblin starred at him, gapping in awe. 

Yukio studied the paw print on the door -burned into the door, actually. It was not a seal. There was no barrier around the house. The paw print was more of a marker. A warning to others to keep out. Yukio ignored it. He reached for the handle and gave it an experimental turn. 

The door was locked. 

A simple and mundane obstacle.

Lifting the doormat, he found the spare key. Obstacle cleared. 

The inside of the house looked relatively normal. A tad quiet. Uncomfortably quiet. But otherwise normal. None of the furniture looked moved. Nothing was broken or out of place -not that he would really be able to tell if anything was out of place, this being the first time Yukio was ever inside the Ikari home. But given the general state of neatness, it was a safe assumption to make that nothing was out of place. 

"Get… Out…!" A loud, growl was heard from somewhere. Not the normal 'growl' of a frustrated person but a deeper growl, something that comes from lower in the throat. The type of growl a large cat would make when it is warning something off before an attack. "Get out!"

Not one easily discouraged, Yukio followed the voice down the hall.

Ikari-san was poised outside Yui-chan's room. His back to the door, facing Yukio -the intruder. 

His hands were contorted into claws. His hair was longer and wilder than the last time Yukio saw him. The eyes were no longer that of a human's but rather golden cat's eyes. The nose was also wrong, not shaped right anymore. I looked more like a cat nose complete with a few short whiskers protruding from his cheeks. In short, Ikari-san demonstrated all the physical changes of a full possession. 

"You… I know you…" Said the possessed Ikari-san. "I've seen you at Mass before. You're one of the boy's the church adopted. You're not welcome here!"

With a very lion-like roar, Ikari charged him, teeth barred, claws out. He slashed at Yukio, but the attack was expected and the young Exorcist pivoted to the side so that the first slash whizzed harmlessly past him. The second slash was blocked with the barrel of his gun. His hand was not on the trigger -he did not want to shoot one of the members of his dad's congregation- but the possessed man froze at suddenly having the barrel of a gun pointed at him. 

His sniffed experimentally. "Blessed ashes. You'd have better luck with normal bullets."

"I have other ammo options." Yukio informed him. "But I am not here to hurt you, Ikari-san. I'm here to help you." To show his good faith, Yukio lowered his weapon, re-holstering the gun at his side. "See? No weapons. Just you, and me, and the new friend you're sharing your body with. I see you are a lion of some variety, I assumed you are a guardian spirit."

"I…" There was a pause as if considering whom he was referring to when he said 'I'. Then the demon inside Ikari-san continued. "I protected the temple not far from here -you call it the 'Southern Cross Buddhist Temple and Community Center', but to my brother and I it was simply our protectorate. One night we were swarmed by all manner of demons. Coal tars and hobgoblins, trolls and gremlins, oni and akuma… The statue my brother resided in was broken and his spirit torn apart by the demons. I tried to defend our protectorate alone, but there were to many -I couldn't…"

There was a pause. Ikari-san put his hand over his eyes as if he were about to cry. But half way to his face, the hand stopped and he starred at it as if it were a strange new novelty he'd only just recently discovered. 

"For days I drifted through the city, not knowing what to do or where to go. The city was different. The humans were different. Nothing was as it was. I lost my home and my brother. Then I found this man. His daughter was being tormented by a hobgoblin -the same monsters that destroyed my brother- I couldn't let it continue. But my spirit was weak. My statue was gone and I had not rested in days. So I took this man as a vessel. His desire to protect his daughter gave me strength. In exchange for the use of his body, I promised to always keep his daughter safe -shielded from the hardships of the world."

"But that's wrong!"

Both Yukio and Ikari turned to see Rin had entered while neither of them was paying attention. 

"Niisan, I thought we agreed you would wait outside." Yukio smacked himself in the forehead. Of course his elder brother wasn't going to wait outside. At least not for any span of time longer than five seconds. He was like a squirmy six-year-old in that respect. He could never just sit still.

"You're you're doing, you're not protecting anyone!" Rin continued. "All you're doing is making Yui-chan a prisoner! Her mother is worried sick outside because you've locker her daughter up and kicked her out of her own home! Yui-chan is probably scarred witless in there-" he nodded to the closed bedroom door "-because she doesn't know what's going on and her father whom she's supposed to trust and depend on has locked her away like she's been bad! On top of it all, you're doing all this on a false assumption!"

And then Rin did probably the stupidest thing Yukio thought he could have done at that moment. He turned his back and beckoned to something as if calling a dog. The hobgoblin from outside came waddling down the hall towards them, stopping just behind Rin's legs. 

"That monster!" Ikari practically exploded with rage. "How dare you bring that monster into my home! I'll kill you both!"

Ikari charged at Rin and the goblin behind him. Claws extended, Mouth open. Fangs dripping with saliva. 

In one swift motion -uncommonly fluid for Rin- the Koma sword was drawn and the attack was blocked with the flat of the blade. Rin's body erupted into blue flames. Blue flaming horns. Elongated elf-like ears. Longer fangs. Slightly more feral features. His tail snapped back in forth tensely. "Just shut-up and listen!"

"Those… those blue flames!"

"Yeah, yeah. 'Blue flames, wow.' Lets stay focused." Rin grumbled. Then more seriously, "Listen, its all just a huge misunderstanding. A couple months ago, I told you Yui-chan was being bullied. But I was wrong. This goblin wasn't trying to hurt Yui-chan, he was trying to play with her. He's a kid, just like her. All he wanted was a friend. But Yui's a normal human and can't hear his voice so she couldn't possibly know that."

Behind Ikari, Yukio raised one skeptical eyebrow. 

"But that thing hurt her!" The possessed man insisted. 

"Only because he didn't know any better." Rin continued to explain. "He's a demon and demons are a lot more… durable than humans. He didn't realize that his rough playing would hurt her. He probably just thought she just needed to get stronger. That's how demons think. There's no malice here. Just two kids not knowing how to behave around each other."

'Yui is my playmate!' Yukio heard the hobgoblin say from his hiding place behind Rin's legs. 

"Why don't you let Yui out?" Rin suggested. "Let her go outside and hug her mother. Koyo-san is worried sick about her -about both of you- and the four of us will stay here and work this out. You, me, Yukio, and this little guy. You'll still be keeping the hobgoblin away from her. She'll be outside with her mother, he'll be in here with us."

Ikari paused, considering these terms. Then he asked a very odd question. "You, you're blue flames. Did you receive them from Yhwh or Ha-Satan?"

"Huh?" Rin blinked. He recognized Satan's name (though the prefix was unfamiliar to him) but he'd never even head of the first name before. It didn't even sound like a name really, more like a sound. As if Ikari, or perhaps the demon possessing him, was trying to do an impression of the sound of a horn. Rin looked around Ikari to Yukio, who's expression echoed his own confusion. He'd never heard of Yhwh either. Neither of them knew who or what this Yhwh was, but they did know that their powers did not come from it. It was pretty well established that their flames came from Satan. "Why should it matter where they come from?"

The demon inside Ikari gave a dark laugh. "No… I suppose it doesn't matter. I wouldn't trust either a soldier of Yhwh or a servant of Ha-Satan."

"What about a boy from your church?" Yukio suggested, drawing the demon's attention to him. "Ikari-san, you know me. We've never really spoken before, but we are members of the same congregation, I've seen you with your family at Mass. I'm Father Fujimoto's son. My brother, Rin, the one on fire over there, is also Fujimoto's son. Forget about demons and Exorcists for a moment. Forget about goblins and danger. Forget about Satan and -whatever that other thing is. Will you just sit and talk with two kids from your church?"

It was a risk, taking a page out of Rin's book. Yukio knew it. This was not how Exorcists were trained to handle possessions. They were supposed to force the demon out of the body by any means short of killing the host. But Rin didn't approve of that. Rin believed in exorcising demons and spirits, not by violence as the Knight of the True Cross did, but by diplomacy. Negotiating with the spirit to learn what they really wanted and why they were behaving the way they were and trying to reach a compromise that satisfied the spirit but also left the person free from their influence or control. 

"Yeah!" The elder brother nodded. He sheathe red his sword and the blue flames vanished. He was a mostly normal teenaged boy again. The ears might still be slightly pointed, but they were not uncommonly long. The tail was still out and wagging lazily behind him as if it had a mind of its own. But the horns and the flames were gone. "Let Yui go out to her mother and we'll talk. We'll keep the goblin here so he can't get to Yui-chan until we figure something out. Everyone walks away happy and safe."

"Ikari-san?" Yukio pressed. 

The possessed man was staring at his feet. 

Then something happened that took them all by surprise. The door to Yui's bedroom opened and the girl poked her head out to see what was going on. 

"Get back inside!" Snarled Ikari-san. 

The girl flinched at the snarl but held her ground. Glaring up at her father through tear glistening eyes. She had been crying. "No! I want Kasama! I wanna go outside. I don't wan an stay in here anymore!"

'Yui.' The hobgoblin came out from behind Rin's legs and skipped happily towards the girl. 

Before she could react, however, Ikari placed himself between the little demon and his daughter. With one swipe of his claws, the goblin went sailing through the air to impact the far wall by the front door. He slid to the floor, leaving a streak of dark demon-blood to mark his trail. Three deep cat-scratches over his face. 

"No!" Yui cried. Adding a level of confusion to the already tense situation. "Tousama, Gendo's not really a bad fairy. He protected me when all the other monsters attacked! Don't hurt him!"

To spite the tensions, confusion, and anger swirling around everyone in the hall, Rin couldn't help but crack a smirk of 'I told you so'. "See? Just a couple of kids who want to be friends but have no idea how to play together. Look, she even gave the thing a name!" Just like Shiemi named Nee, or Izumo's foxes had names. Yui might grow up to be a Tamer like they were. 

An expression of extreme conflict and confusion contorted Ikari's face. The demon and the man having two conflicting opinions of this new information. Ikari raised one trembling hand to his face. For the first time since Yukio entered the house, he heard the man speak in a normal human voice. "Yu-Yui always used to tell stories of her 'bad fairies' that were meant to her. I- I always brushed them off as nothing more than the inventions of a highly imaginative but scatter brained child, but… but know I know they're not. The bad fairies are real! And they've been hurting my little girl almost her whole life!"

His body shook, the claws on his hand were back again and his voice was once again the deeper, more guttural tone of a man possessed by some otherworldly force. "That's why I came! A demon only knows how to harm -just like they killed by brother and broke our lion statues. They all deserve to die!"

"Everything's so different now…" Ikari continued in his normal human voice. 

"I can protect you and your family!" Said Ikari's mouth in the demon voice. 

"Nothing will ever be the same again…" Ikari sobbed. He sank to his knees, one hand over his face, the other braced on the floor. 

Yui came up to him. She took his hand in hers and pulled it away from his face so that he could look at her. "Tousama, everything's still the same as before." Ikari gapped at her. The little hobgoblin -Gendo- picked himself up off the floor and waddled back to the group. Once again lurking safely behind Rin's legs. 

"I've always been able to see the fairies. They're always been here. The only thing that's changed is that now you, and Kasama, and everyone else can see them too." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny glass bottle containing a single four-leaf clover. "But if you're scared, you can have this. The fairies look scary and sometimes they do mean things, so the priest at church gave this to me to keep them away. But I know they're not all bad now. Gendo protected me when they all swarmed. Now I know he's nice and I'm not scared of them anymore. You can keep it until you're not scared anymore either."

There was a moment's hesitation.

Then Ikari took the offered charm. 

Fujimoto had said that it would keep the bad fairies away. It was a charm meant to ward off demons from attacking people. Nobody present had any idea what kind of effect it would have on a person already posed by a demon. What did happen was rather surprising. 

Ikari let loose a snarl of rage or pain. It was difficult to tell. A shiver ran though his body and he exhaled slowly. As his breath left him, a tendril of mist slithered out from between his lips. He coughed a few times before crawling backwards away from it. Still clutching the clover charm in his hand, he grabbed Yui and pulled her be hind himself. "That- that was inside me!?"

The mist began gathered and took shape, forming into the general figure of a lion. Details formed. The body of a cat with the main of a lion, but the face of a man. In place of fur there were scales. Rather than a fury and tufted tail, there was the tail of a dragon. Wings of an eagle. But the strangest feature of all was the second face it had. The lion demon had a second face on its hind quarter. Eyes over its hips. In place of the nose was the dragon-tail, with the mouth just below that. 

"What is that? A sphinx?" Rin asked.

"Looks more like a chimera." Yukio shook his head. 

The body of a cat and the face of a man did fit with a sphinx. So, while Rin was wrong, his mistake was understandable. But then, the wings and tail were more reminiscent of a chimera, so Yulkio's assessment was also fitting. But neither of those things had a second face. And in such an awkward place, too. 

The creature gave a laugh. Deep. Superior sounding. And it wasn't coming from the face on its head. The demon laughed from the face on its back. 'Sphinx? Chimera? I am no creature of Gehenna! You carry the blue flames, yet you cannot tell the difference between a denizen of Gehenna or a son of Amahara.'

It laughed. 

It laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

Amahara? That magical garden Shiemi told them about? It was real? It was real and demons also came from it too?

What?

"What are you talking about?" Yukio demanded. He's never heard of Amahara before Shiemi told him about it either. He didn't even think it was real. He might be a certified Exorcist, but he'd only ever been trained to fight demons from Gehenna. He had no idea what to do against an entity not from there. Experimentally, he pointed his gun at it, not pulling the trigger, just holding it up. The blessed ash rounds worked on the thorns outside, it stood to reason that it would work on this creature too. "Amahara is just a story. What are you really?"

'I am a servant of Ignatios ho Theophoros.' Said the creature. 'And I am from Amahara.'

There was a scoff on the edge of Rin's tongue and further questions churning in Yukio's mind. But neither brother got to voice their opinions. Ikari-san beat them to it. 

"I don't care who you are or where you're from!" He shouted. "Just get out of my house! Stay away from me and my daughter!"

That was Rin's cue. He didn't know if his flames would have the same effect on entities from Amahara as they seemed to have on demons from Gehenna. But the lion-sphenx-chimera-thing seemed impressed earlier when he was still possessing Ikari-san. So it was worth a try. He didn't un-sheath the Koma sword, just pulled a bit of power past its seal. 

"They don't want you here." He said. "I think you should go before we have to make you leave." 

The eyes of the creature's human face studied him. Focussing on, not just the blue flames, but the elongated ears, the fiery horns, the goat-tail. The dark hair and crystal-blue eyes. There was something vaguely familiar about those features. It was nobody the creature had ever seen before, but the description did fit someone he'd heard of, someone very famous in Amahara. The features were reminiscent of Ha-Satan, the one Fallen from Favor. The one cast out and given a kingdom of his own as both principality and prison. But that wasn't right. While this boy's image might fit that of the Fallen One's, the Fallen One could never leave his domain. He could send his spirit out, but his body must remain. This was curious. 

'I will withdraw.' It said. If for no other reason than it did not wish to fight a vassal of the holy flame without knowing if he was a soldier of the King of Amahara, or a servant of the Prince of Gehenna. 

The creature left. 

"Well, that was… new." Commented Rin. 

"Tousama, I'd like to go outside now…" Yui muttered. 

Rin and Yukio hung back as Yui hugged her mother and Koyo gave Souta a stern talking to. The goblin, Gendo, was about to skip up to the family to join them in a group hug but Rin grabbed him and pulled him back. 

"Hold it right there. You and I still have to have that talk about playing rough with girls." He dragged the goblin off. 

… 

As a thank you for saving her family, Koyo invited the Okumura twins to stay for dinner. 

While she busied herself in the kitchen, Rin helped Souta get used to the idea of his daughter having a demon for a playmate. To ease things, Rin called Gendo Yui's 'familiar', the same thing Yukio told the Knights that Kuro was to him even though they were friends and had agreed to no contracts. Yukio for his part, just sat back on the couch and watched his brother struggle. Diplomacy and explanations were not his strong suit, but it was nice to see him trying so hard on something he seemed to feel so strongly about. 

Yukio wasn't sure when this idea of Rin's first started. That demons weren't all bad, and that demons and humans could live together in harmony. The big event that came to Yukio's mind was when he pulled his gun on Kuro. The little cat sidhe was as much Rin's friend as Kamiki-san or Miwa-san. Or it could have been before that, at his 'trial' after he lost control during the camping trip. The whole class working together to save him -a demon. Or maybe even earlier. When he first found out that he was a demon, and not just any demon, but the son of the King of Demons. Perhaps on some level, not consciously, (Yukio didn't think his brother was introspective enough to come to the conclusion on his own), but maybe on some unconscious level, Rin was using his status as Satan's son to act as mediator, or 'ambassador' between demons and humans. 

It actually reminded him a lot of their mother. Or, at least, what Yukio saw of their mother when Satan shared memories with him. She also believed demons and humans could live together. In fact, it was originally Yuri's idea to combine the worlds -not Satan's. No Assiah or Gehenna. But one world where demons and humans walked hand and hand. 

"Combine the worlds, huh." Yukio muttered himself. But the problem with that was the method Satan imployed. Even if he had managed to succeed, by the time the worlds were combined, there wouldn't have been any humans left to live with the demons. "It'll never work."

No one was looking to notice. Even if someone was looking, the only ones that would have been able to see it would have been Rin and Yukio. But watching them from a reflection in the TV was a figure. Confined within ice as red and blood. He looked remarkably like Rin, but with longer hair. Older eyes. The blue flamed horns were taller. But the long elf-like ears, the strait nose, high cheekbones, and crystal blue eyes were all the same. And, of course, his body was writhed in sapphire fire. 

Yukio's comment irritated him. But the main focus of his attention was Rin. Without even realizing it, the boy had set himself up as the Envoy between the two worlds. The figure in the reflection saw this and could not hold back the smile that tugged on his lips. The boy might look more like him, but his spirit was like that of Yuri's. 

Then Yui turned on the TV and the reflection was gone. Replaced by the latest episode of Sailor Moon Crystal. 

Ikari-san took the remote away, however. He was not in the mood to watch anime. And switched to the news instead. 

The top story was, unsurprisingly, the Incident. It was a repeat of a broadcast from earlier that day. Of an iPad video that was found, documenting almost the whole Incident. From the moment a military jet flew over the city and dropped something that looked like a light (but was more likely a bomb) onto the Academy, all the way to the final climactic finish with a blue phoenix attacking what looked like a gigantic, monstrous wheel in the sky. 

And just barely visible within that phoenix of blue flame were two figures. Two distinctly human shaped figures. 

Kisaragi Ami narrated. "… and while the identities of our heroes remains a mystery, one thing is clear: we owe our lives to this pair."

Yukio just stared at the screen. 

Rin nudged him in the elbow. "Uh, this might be a bad time, but… can I borrow some money to take Shiemi to the amusement park?"

…


	6. Verdict

After TCN ran the footage of the Incident, other networks managed to get their hands on copies of the video and repeated the story on their own stations. By the next day, it was impossible to turn on the news without seeing the phoenix of blue flame. And everyone was asking one question.

Who were the two figures inside that blue flamed phoenix?

…

The Gregori convened. 

The original plan was to -once the dust of the Incident settled- to remove the danger the Okumura twins presented as durable hosts for Satan. Once the hysteria that followed the Incident calmed down and the Order was no long spread so thinly, and they could afford the loss of one Exorcist and one Exwire, they would execute the brothers (in a manner that did not require the spilling of blood). With the death of the satanic siblings, Satan's foot in the door to Assiah would be gone. But, they had still saved the world. So, in honor of their great deeds, the Okumura brothers would be Sainted posthumously. 

That was the plan. 

At least until the exact details of the Incident became public knowledge. Recorded by an anonymous interloper on an iPad and broadcast all over public television for the whole world to see. 

Suddenly the situation became much trickier. 

The Catholic church had a history of making very bad decisions at very bad times in human history. Catholicism had been in a decline for over five hundred years. Ever since Martin Luther nailed that damn paper to the church door saying 'hey now! this shit ain't cool, yo!' -to paraphrase. Since then, public opinion of the church just went from bad to worse. From the opulent spending by almost every Pope whom held the office, to the alter boy scandals, and all their constrictive and confining policies in between. Most of the world had move on to other more liberal sects of Christianity, or just gone Agnostic -or worse Atheist all together. Point was, the Vatican's popularity was down and had been going down for centuries. 

But now they were presented with an interesting and unique opportunity. The opportunity to once again garner favor with their lost flock. By claiming the Okumura twins as their agents, acting under Vatican order, they could by extension assert claim to the victory over Satan and the credit for saving the world. 

It was probably the best PR move the Vatican could make. The best PR move they had the opportunity to make within the last five hundred years. They could not afford to pass it up. 

At the same time, however, the mere existence of the Okumura brothers still presented a danger to all of Assiah -not just the Vatican. As both boys now carried the blue flame, both boys were now proven to be durable hosts for their father to inhabit. That meant that Satan had, not one, but two avenues through which to enter and dwell in the world. That was something the Gregori could not allow. Satan could not walk the world of Assiah -the world of action. He must stay imprisoned in his kingdom of Gehenna. That meant that both brothers would have to be dispatched. 

Of course, the two were not mutually exclusive. 

The Vatican could openly claim Rin and Yukio as their agents. Gain the credit for their deeds. Earn back the following they once enjoyed during the 14th century. Then quietly have the Order arrange an 'accident' for the brothers later. Something that would not allow their blood to spill (and if blood must be spilt, than something that would not allow their blood to pool and mingle), but would still terminate their lives. 

All these things, the Gregori considered. 

Then they came to a decision. 

"Bring us the Okumura twins."

…

'CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION'

That was the sign posted in front of the main entrance to the Mephiland Amusement Park. 

True, the repairs from their class mission to exorcise a child's ghost were not yet fully complete. But they were by no means big enough to merit the closure of the entire park. It was more likely the repairs were just being used as an excuse. No one felt much like going outside when the whole city appeared to be infested with monsters. If nobody was willing to venture outside, then they would by no means be willing to venture all the way to an amusement park and pay the absurd ticket fee to get in. 

Rin sighed with disappointment. "I'm sorry, Shiemi."

"That's okay. You can't control when the park opens and closes." She soothed, though a little of her own disappointment still showed through. "I'm sure a lot of the people who work here don't wanna come to work now anyways. I'd feel guilty having fun while others are scared."

"That's a good point." He had to admit. "What else do you wanna do?"

Shiemi paused for a moment, thinking. The assignments they were given were to clear out the excess demons that came through the Gate, help with the repairs of the city and smooth over any incidents with angry spirits, or to assist on missions as they were called in. But she had been doing that for the past three days. With all the Exorcist running around, being called to all sorts of missions, the supply shop had seen more traffic in the past week than it had in the last year. It would be a little unfair to try and put Rin to work on what was supposed to be their first official date, but at the same time. It was a little selfish to be going on dates when the rest of the world was in a panic. Plus, her and her mother could use the help. 

"Do you wanna go to my garden?" She suggested.

"Sure." He shrugged. The garden was where they first met, after all. I wasn't such a bad venue for their first date. 

Since discovering that demons were real and being show the supply shop by his brother, Rin had never seen the store any version of 'busy'. When he went there with Yukio or just on his own because Shiemi called him over, it had always been quiet. Dead, even. He and Yukio would be the only customers in the shop. Rin only ever imagined it getting one customer at a time. But as they neared the store, they saw a line of people all wearing the True Cross badge. With almost every Exorcist in the Order scrambling frantically after the Incident, it seemed everyone had a high demand for supplies. 

"Wow."

"Its been like this since, well, since you know." She explained. "I was kinda looking forward to getting out for a while at the amusement park. But, since that's closed… would you mind helping out?"

While Rin did not want to say 'no', he did have to be honest with himself- he was not very good with the whole 'job' thing. Flashbacks to his one and only day of employment flashed through his head. Tripping and spilling boxes all over his boss, broken sinks, avalanches of heavy canned goods. But he also told Shiemi he would help. He couldn't renege now. He would just have to try his best not to mess everything up. This wasn't the same as woking at a grocery. This was important.

"T'ch, I already said I'd help." He answered. "Just… I can be kinda klutzy, so maybe don't give me something to important?"

Shiemi smiled. "I think we can find something."

They squeezed in through the gate and cut across the lawn around the back of the building into the herb garden. Shiemi lead him into the store house where she picked out a small hand sickle and handed it to him. 

"Do you feel comfortable using one of these?" She asked.

"A ninja sickle?" He asked. "I thought we were gonna be gardening, not fighting. And where's the chain?"

Shiemi paused for a moment, a little dumbfounded. Then she giggled. Rin had apparently seen to many movies. "No. This is for reaping -you know, harvesting- you've seen to many ninja movies." She took the sickle back from him and replaced it on the shelf. Instead she selected a small hand trowel. "Here. This might be more your speed. You're going to be digging up roots for me. Come here."

Taking him by the hand, she lead Rin back out of the store house and over to a brick lined bed full of white and purple flowers. 

"These are mandrakes." Explained Shiemi. "They're also called mayapples. I need you to -very carefully- dig up the roots. Don't freak out if any of them scream when you pull them up. They do that. I'll get you a basket to put them in. When the basket's full, bring it in through the back door. Then you can help me in the drying house." 

"Okay. That sounds easy." He nodded. This wasn't exactly how he imagined spending his first official date with Shiemi. But they were still spending time together and that was all that really mattered, right? Besides, they were helping people and that was ever better! Right?

"Thanks, Rin. I'm so glad we decided to do this." 

…

Yukio was on a case when Shura showed up randomly. 

He and his team had followed a troll that had been causing trouble on the Northern Cross pedestrian bridge down a maintenance corridor and into the sewers. It was a tight space. Yukio had to be carful to make sure none of his team got in the way of his shots, likewise, his teammates were hard pressed to stay out of the path of his bullets. 

So ti came as a rather jarring surprise when a blade went sailing over his head, cutting the air with a distinctive swish that made him tense. 

"Kirigakure Sword Technique! Snake Fang!"

A sharp current of air cut through the troll like a blade and in an instant the threat was neutralized and the mission done. 

"Shura?" Yukio shouted, more out of agitation than anything else. She had swung her sword a hair's breath above his head. "What are you doing here? You weren't assigned to this mission."

She shook her head in the negative. No, she wasn't assigned to his mission. Calmly, she sheathed her magical sword back in the sigle tattooed on her chest. Then she did something very surprising and out of character for her. She closed the space between them and hugged him. 

Yukio froze in confusion. "What's going on?"

Shura said nothing. She just held him for a moment and inhaled deeply, as if trying to memorize the scent on his hair. "No matter what happens," she whispered, "I want you to know that I've got your back. If you wanna run and hide out in the mountains or fight to the bitter end. I'll be right there with you, Chicken."

"What brought this on?" He asked confused.

Then she pulled away as if nothing happened. "The Gregori have come to a decision. You and Rin are summoned to hear their ruling."

Yukio swallowed hard and nodded grimly. 

…

"Where do you want them?" Rin asked as he entered, carrying a large basket overflowing with fat leathery roots that were shaped vaguely like people. 

Shiemi set down the pestle and mortar she'd been using the grind salts and jumped to her feet. "Oh! Here. Let me show you."

She tried to take the basket from him. 

"No, I can do it. Just point me. Its a little to heavy for you." 

"Don't be silly. I've been doing this by myself since forever." 

She pulled on the basket.

He pulled on the basket. 

One of the mandrake roots toppled off the top and rolled inconveniently under their feet. 

One fell on top of the other. The basket went rolling to the side. Mandrake roots spilling all over the floor. 

And somehow, amidst it all, both of them ended up on the floor with Rin straddling Shiemi. 

She starred up at him. Eyes wide. Face, bright red. 

He starred down at her. Eyes just as wide. Face even redder. "S-sorry! I-I-I… um… I don't mean. That is- this isn't- I'm not trying-! Sorry."

"Maybe… maybe it would be less awkward if you got off me?" She suggested, her beet red blush deepening. 

"Right! Right." Rin bolted to his feet. 

Then, remembering that it was the gentlemanly thing to help her to her own feet, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Unfortunately for them, in his embarrassment and agitation, Rin failed to adequately moderate his strength and instead of just pulling Shiemi to her feet, he also jerked her so sharply that her face mashed into his. Their lips met and both of them jumped back as if they'd been bitten. Each one putting a hand to their mouths in shock. 

"Did we just…?" Asked Shiemi. "That was my first kiss!"

"No." Rin insisted. "That was just an accident. Our first kiss can't be an accident!" It was also sudden and uncomfortable. Awkward and disappointing. Not the sort of experience anyone wanted for their first kiss.

"Our lips met." She insisted. She looked like she was about to cry. That's right! First kisses were supposed to be a big deal to girls, right? And a sheltered girl like Shiemi… a first kiss would be an even bigger deal to her. 

Rin didn't know what to say next. He just stood there, blushing.

There was an extended pause that lasted for one… two… three beats. Then Shiemi shook her head, as if in resignation. 

"I guess its official now." She said. "I'm your girlfriend."

He was blushing so much at that point, Rin was actually very amazed he wasn't bursting into flames. Bursting into blazing blue flames. "I- I guess. Yeah! And I'm your boyfriend! But I don't think we should call that our first kiss. I wanna do better. The next time I kiss you, it'll be much better. That's what we'll call our first kiss!"

"Okay." She nodded. 

There was another pause in which all they did was stand there and blush at each other. Then Shiemi remembered the cascade of mandrake roots scattered over the floor around them. She bent down and started picking them up. Rin followed her example and did the same. 

It was just as they were picking up the very last ones off the floor that they were interrupted. An Exorcist opened the door without knocking and entered without permission. 

"I'm sorry, you're going to have to wait in line out front, like everyone else." Shiemi informed him, flashing one of those disarmingly adorable apologetic smiles at him. 

The Exorcist ignored her. His attention focused instead on Rin. "Okumura Rin, Exwire?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Your presence is required at a special ruling by the Vatican." He announced. "Please come with me and come quietly."

Rin did not move. A ruling by the Vatican? Had the Gregori finally made a decision about him and Yukio? A cold stone of dread sank into his stomach as he remembered Shura's words from the other day. 'They can't decide what to do with you but they're leaning towards killing you and not taking chances.' Was this it then? Was this Rin's summons to his death sentence? Where was Yukio? Was he being summoned too? And how were they gonna kill them without spilling any blood? Killing them to prevent another Incident would be pretty pointless if their method of execution ended up causing a new one instead. 

All these thoughts ran through Rin head, giving him pause. And perhaps he paused to long, because the Exorcist tapped the bluetooth in his ear and muttered something that sounded like, "I don't think he'll come quietly…"

No sooner had he said this, than none other than Arthur Auguste Angel appeared, arms crossed over his chest. "Really now. I swear, you'll be the death of me, brat. Lets go, Satan-spawn."

"Wait just a moment!" Shiemi placed herself between Rin and the Paladin. "What's going on here? Where are you taking Rin? Why? He hasn't done anything and its not time for his Exorcist Exam yet! Why's he being summoned to the Vatican?"

Not wanting his girlfriend -tee hee, he liked the sound of that, 'girlfriend'- not wanting his girlfriend to get in the middle, should Angel want to fight, Rin placed a pacifying hand on her shoulder. "Its okay, Shiemi. Yukio and I knew this was coming. They've just decided how to reward us for saving the world after the Incident." He lied. Rin was pretty sure this was a summons to his death, not a heroic commendation. But he didn't want his girlfriend to worry. 'Girlfriend'. He was really starting to like the sound of that word. Girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend. Shiemi was his girlfriend. He cleared his throat. "I'll be back in time to cook a nice dinner for everyone!"

Rin took a step to follow Angel, then changed his mind and spun around on his heels. He was pretty sure he was going to his death, and he didn't want to leave with his first and only kiss being a sloppy accident. Rin grabbed Shiemi about the shoulders and pulled her to him, crushing her to his chest. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. A surprisingly gentle action to follow such an aggressive one. It was a chase, closed-mouth kiss. Nothing particularly exciting or special. But it was worlds better than the accidental kiss they shared only moments before. 

"That is our first kiss." He told her. Rin turned back around to follow Angel out. "I won't be gone long. I promise not to stop for drinks with the fellas. I hear the drinking age in Italy is sixteen." Rin held up his smile until they were off the supply shop's property. Then his expression turned serious. "I'm totally going to die, aren't I?"

"That was my recommendation." Angel nodded, not even trying to feign sympathy or hide his contempt for the boy. "You and your brother have proven yourselves to be to dangerous to remain in this world. I do appreciate what you did. We fought together and that makes us brothers-in-arms. So, as a warrior, I respect you -brat. But you and I both know that your actions -heroic though they were- do not absolve you of being the begotten offspring of the Demon King of Gehenna. Regardless of how you or your brother view Satan is irrelevant. Its not your character or ideals that's the danger, its your very existence. The honorable thing would be for you to take your own lives."

An awkward pause. 

"Uh… you do know I'm Catholic, right? We've got pretty clear rules about suicide." Rin reminded him. "Just 'cause I'm Japanese doesn't mean I support Seppuku."

Angel scoffed. "T'ch, even if you were a perfect Catholic boy, you'd never get into Heaven. There's no place there for a creature like you. If you're gonna go to Hell either way, might as well head there doing something that will keep everyone you care about safe. Or do you want the next time your lips touch that girl's it really be Satan in your body chewing her face off?"

Rin was suddenly reminded of Amaimon's mock-marriage vows to Shiemi after which he planned to bite her lips off. That made him pause for thought. 

…

The Opera House Court looked much the same as it did during Rin's first visit -though, with fresh repairs. Newer pillars and floor paneling. And much like the first time, Rin entered through the stage door of the accused. 

Yukio was already there when he arrived. Shura standing close by.

Timothee Timowan presided, also, just as before. "Will the brothers Okumura please assume the podium."

Rin and Yukio exchanged a look. This was it. This was the end. Taking each other's hands, the twins took the stand together, drawing strength from each other.

There was a pregnant silence. 

"Okumura Yukio," began Timowan, "for your actions during the Incident-" Rin squeezed his hand tighter "-you will be promoted to the rank of Senior Exorcist, Second Class."

"Wait, what!?" Yukio stared in shock. He, like Rin, was expecting a death sentence. Then, he decided it was best to just take the promotion and not question it. He could ply Shura for information later. "I'm honored."

They seemed not to notice that he'd spoken, however. Timowan continued, "Okumura Rin, for your actions during the Incident, you will be awarded the rank of Junior Exorcist, Second Class."

"W-wha? But I haven't even taken my Exorcist Exam yet!"

Yukio elbowed him in the ribs. In all honesty, he agreed Rin was not yet Exorcist material. But he didn't want to say or do anything one way or another until they understood what angle the Vatican was working or what agenda that Gregori had. "Just shut-up and take the promotion."

Timowan cleared his throat. As if reluctant to give an explanation for the honors. "Yes, well, no mere Exwire could have defeated Satan and closed a Gehenna Gate." Then he quickly steered away from having to explain further. "Shortly, the Vatican will be releasing a press-statement about the Incident. They will explain -in so many words- what happened and you both shall be credited for your efforts. However, if ever asked, both of you must say that you were working under the Vatican's instruction."

"What?" Rin blinked up at Timowan before looking beyond him to the Gregori. "But all of you were locked up at the time and the members of the church that were in charge with the jerks that caused all the shit in the first place!"

Once again, Yukio elbowed his brother in the ribs. "This is a perfectly understandable request and a fair compromise." He said. Offering an apologetic smile up at the Gregori. It was hard to tell under their hoods, but they did not look impressed. "I'm sure my brother will realize that once he remembers that its the Order that provided us with the training that made it possible for us to close the Gate in the first place."

"Finally," Timowan continued, "any and all official interviews you give due to your new status as high-profile Exorcist, will be chaperoned by the Paladin."

Both brothers turned around to look at Angel. He did not look happy, but he didn't look surprised either. 

"That is all." Timowan concluded.

"That's it?" Rin asked. 

"Its enough for now." Yukio hissed next to him. Then to the gathered court. "Thank you for these great honors."

…


	7. Interview

"Has anyone seen Rin?"

Everyone looked up at Shiemi entered the classroom late, which was unlike her. But then, they didn't know that she spent almost all of the previous night up, waiting by the phone for Rin to call and tell her he was alrihgt. He promised he'd be home in time to cook a delicious dinner for everyone. He did not say who's home. Since it was absurd to imagine him returning to her home, she stayed up hoping he would call once he got back to his home. 

But the phone never rang and Shiemi fell asleep next to the receiver. 

She didn't wake up again until a customer called to see if they would be willing to open earlier on account of the high demand for supplies. It was then that Shiemi realized she was late for school and that if Rin was fine -as he promised he would be- then he would probably be there. 

Kamiki, Suguro, Shima, and Miwa all looked up at her. The whole class was here. The whole class minus Rin and their teacher. Yukio was also in absence. 

"So far, he's late." Izumo informed her. "But that's nothing new."

"Yeah, but Okumura-sensei isn't here yet either. And that is strange." Konekomaru replied. 

Now Shiemi was worried. Well, more worried than she was before. Sitting down at her desk, she chewed on her lower lip in thought. "Yesterday, some people from the Vatican came to the shop to collect Rin. He said it was so they could reward him and Yuki after the Incident. But… he never called last night to tell me he was okay."

There was a pause while everyone considered what she'd said. It was nowhere near the allotted six months when Rin was required to pass the Exorcist Exam or die. But then they could have decided to forgo that pretense and just kill him outright. Him and his brother both, seeing as how the Incident pretty much proved that either boy could be a danger to the world. Either boy could be a durable vessel for Satan's spirit. Or, given the fact that he and Yukio were the ones to close the Gate and save the world, it could honestly be nothing sinister at all and they did just want to reward the brothers. 

Then Shima asked, "So, Rin was at your house when they picked him up?"

Shiemi turned a bright, bright red. Her mind immediately jumping to their kiss -both of their kisses. The sudden accidental knocking together of their lips and then the equally sudden but considerably more gentle brushing of his lips against hers. The second kiss wasn't bad. It was unexpected, as the first one had been. But it wasn't as jarring. It was chase, innocent, slightly hesitant -almost like he wanted to kiss her more deeply but was scared- and very, very awkward. Shiemi had never kissed a boy before and so she wasn't really sure what it was supposed to feel like, but she was fairly certain is wasn't supposed to feel awkward. It was almost like she and Rin didn't quite fit together right. Like a puzzle piece that looks like it goes in one place but just doesn't snap together no matter how hard you try and force it to fit. 

When she considered that, Shiemi found that she wasn't sure she wanted to answer Shima's question. 

"What's with that suggestive tone?" Asked Izumo, brushing one of her pigtails over her shoulder. "He's training to be an Exorcist, Moriyama runs a supply shop for Exorcists. What do you think he was doing there?"

"More importantly," Suguro interrupted, drawing everyone's attention away from whatever Kamiki and Shima thought or didn't think Rin was doing with Moriyama. "Yesterday Okumura was summoned by the Vatican and now today neither of the Okumuras are here. Maybe we should be discussing that."

"You don't think they're gonna execute him, do you?" Asked Koneko. 

"Well, they did kinda already try that." Shima offered a hollow laugh. "Or at least Ernst did. We all know how well that turned out."

"Idiot. There are ways to kill a person without spilling their blood." Izumo reminded them. 

That made Shiemi worry even more. She thought about how Rin was about to follow Angel out, but then stopped to kiss her. He said it was their first kiss, their real first kiss, not the accidental kiss that happened only moments before. But looking back, at the context of the situation and how Rin was on his way out but paused and came back… the way it seemed… it was more like a good-bye kiss. Did he know he was going to an execution sentence? Did Rin know he was going to die? Was that his way of saying good-bye? And then he just walked off to meet his fate? No. She refused to accept that!

"We should find another teacher and ask them about it!" Moriyama stood. "We'll ask Tsubaki-sensei again. He told us about Ernst's plot, maybe he'll tell us what happened to Rin and Yuki."

She was halfway to the door when it was opened and Shura walked through. Looking tired and slightly harassed, but otherwise quite happy. "Sit down, Moriyama." She said. "I'll be subbing for Okumura-sensei today and since that four-eyed Chicken didn't give me a lesson plan, we'll be winging it."

Shiemi did not return to her seat as asked. She stood directly in Shura's path to the desk. "Kirigakure-sensei, are Rin and Yuki alright? When the Paladin came to take him away… I was so worried. He said he'd be back in time for dinner, but then he never called. And it felt more like a permanent 'good-bye'. And I just… Its just… Rin and I recently… I just don't wanna leave things like that."

With an exasperated sigh, Shura ran a hand through her hair. "Alright. You're all worried. I get that. Look, any of you got a phone that streams live video?"

Everyone but Shiemi raised their hands. 

"Then at ten we'll put class on hold and I'll allow you to watch the news on your phones. True Cross Network."

…

Well this was annoying. 

Rin sneezed as a makeup artist dusted his nose with an over sized powder brush. They said it was because his nose would appear shiny under the bright studio lights and it would make him look weird on camera. 

Yukio didn't seem the least bit bothered by it. He sat there, cool as you please while they put foundation and concealer over his moles, powdered his cheeks, dusted his nose, plucked one or two of his eye brows. The most he did was take off his glass with a sigh of resignation. Calm faced bastard. 

Angel looked like he was downright enjoying the treatment. They brushed and styled his hair, filled it with product and gave him a blow-out that made him look like a bishonnen that had just walked out of some bad girl's romance manga. In fact, Rin was pretty sure he might actually have seen a character that looked almost exactly like him in Fushigi Yuugi. (Not that he watched girls' romance manga or anything.)

"Five minutes." A set hand informed them.

"Thank you." Angel acknowledged as if he'd done this a million times before. 

The set for the interview was set up like one of those informal talk shows. With uncomfortable but stylish looking chair and couch arranged around an equally stylish coffee table. Bright lights over the stage and a three different cameras for three different angles. It all looked so fake and make Rin feel so uncomfortable. He wasn't much liking the idea of being either a hero or an idol now.

The 'On Air' sign lit up and Kisaragi Ami walked out onto stage. And Rin thought she was a legitimate reporter, not a talk show host. She said a few words about the Incident, commenting on how everyone has been panicked about what caused it and whether or not it could happen again. Then she introduced her first guest, a representative from the head of the Catholic Church, the Vatcan. Angel walked out onto camera, all polite smiles and friendly hand shakes. He sat down on the couch while Kisaragi took the chair. 

They flirted for a few minutes before Kisaragi got right down to the point. "Can you tell us a bit about the Incident? My sources tell me that it was another world -a demon world- trying to impose itself on our world. Is that true?"

"Yes. That's true." Angel admitted, a tad reluctantly. "All of creation is divided into two worlds. Assiah -where we live- which was made in seven days at the start of creation, and then Gehenna -where the demons reside- which was made many centuries later from the Valley of Benhinnom, cut out of Assiah by the Creator and plunged into a prison of darkness and ice in order to trap Satan."

That was new. Rin had never heard that before. He glanced at Yukio whom looked equally surprised to learn that there wasn't always a Gehenna, but also thoughtful. Gehenna was created to trap Satan. Perhaps that was why he could only leave it in spirit form and possess people instead of just passing through a Gate himself to walk the world in his own body. Satan alone had complete control of the Gates, yet he never passed through on in physical form. His body could not leave Gahenna, only his spirt could. That was why he needed Rin and Yukio so much. Because his body could not leave Gahenna, he would need a body here in Assiah that could withstand and contain his power. 

"And Satan was the one trying to invade?" Kisaragi clarified.

Angel nodded. "Yes. But luckily, agents trained by the Knights of the True Cross to fight the forces of Satan and employed by the Vatican were able to stop him."

"That was the blue fire bird we all saw." Nodded Kisaragi. "So, Arthur -may I call you 'Arthur'?- everyone wants to know one thing: Who were the people inside that blue phoenix? Were you one of them?"

"Certainly not!" And he sounded genuinely insulted for a moment. Then recovered quickly. The purpose of this interview was to set the Okumua brothers up as the church's agents and the world's heroes. "No, channeling that kind of power is a young person's game. I'm afraid I'm to old for that. I did provide back-up, though."

"Oh, you don't look a day over twenty-nine." And they were back to the flirting. Then, she pressed on, not allowing herself to be completely derailed. "But I think we'd all like to meet our heroes, and I hear they're here with you. Why don't we bring them out? Give them the credit they deserve. Okumura Yukio and Okumura Rin, ladies and gentlemen!"

Rin froze with nerves. Yukio pushing him forward. He went stumbling out onto camera looking like an idiot. Yukio followed after him, graceful and collected. They sat on the couch next to Angel, though keeping a moderate distance from him. This was not at all how Rin imagined being a hero or an idol. More than that, he had no idea what he was going to do or say. In this situation, though he may not like the man, it might be best to follow Angel's lead. Either that or let Yukio do all the talking. 

"I am just amazed at how young you two are." Kisaragi said. "Tell everyone your age."

Yukio pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "We'll be turning sixteen this December."

"Wow. That is just incredible." She smiled, but it was one of those polite celebrity smiles that meant they were actually rather board but just keeping up appearances for the audience. She already knew their ages and that they were Exorcists. She had breakfast with them only days before. "And I hear you're both Exorcists. At such a young age, that's quite an accomplishment. Are you proud?"

"A bit." Yukio admitted. "But it's what we both worked for. It would have been disappointing if we weren't."

"Tell us about the Incident. Was it terrifying?"

There was a pregnant pause while all three men sitting on that couch thought about Satan's attempt to combine the worlds. About how Angel resolved his conflict over having Yukio being promoted over him by not thinking about it and just following his orders blindly. About hearing Satan speaking through Fujimoto's voice and charing with Yukio his memories of Yuri. About Yukio's possession and how it took him shooting Rin to get him to snap out of it and force the Demon King out.

"For a moment there…" Rin began softly. "For a moment there, I thought I'd never see my brother again."

Yukio reached over and took Rin's hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He knew, probably better than anyone else on that couch, just how difficult it was to break free of Satan's control. If it wasn't for Rin, Satan would still be in his body and the worlds would be one. Demons would walk Assiah and there would be no humans left. 

"That must have been awful for you. But you did it! You and Yukio -may I call you by your first names- you both defeated Satan and closed the Gate. Which reminds me… I had our research team do a little digging after I learned about the spiritual roots of the event, and I've drafted up a few questions for you." Kisaragi pulled out a small memo pad from a pocket in her blazer. "Lets start with that blue fire that made the phoenix. 

Everyone on the couch tensed. Rin squeezed Yukio's had back. 

"Are you aware that the Archangel Michael is said to have carried a sword wreathed in cobalt flame?" She asked. That was not the question any of them had been expecting. 

Rin certainly hadn't know that. He never really payed all that much attention during Fujimoto's bible lessons. He didn't know much about God or the angels. All he really knew about were demons and then only because he found out he was one and joined an Exorcist school. But an angel also used a sword of blue flame? Really?Why had no one told him that before? He glanced at Yukio, whom looked just as confused as he was. 

"Actually, that true!" Angel looked equally surprised and a little embarrassed. Like the teacher's pet in school when he forgets an answer that a lesser student knew. "Michael's flaming sword of justice was said to be blue. It was a weapon gifted from the Creator to help him slay the wicked." 

It was all Rin could do to just stair at them. He never knew that. No one had ever told him. He fingered the strap that held Kurikara to his back. He and Yukio got their flames from Satan, but where did Satan get his flames from? Where there other… things out there with blue flames? Demons? Angels? Gods? 'You, you're blue flames. Did you receive them from Yhwh or Ha-Satan?'

"Well, since you two look so confused, I guess the answer to my next question is 'no'. But, have you considered the idea that maybe that blue fire of yours is a gift from the Archangel Michael, or maybe even God himself?"

They already knew it wasn't true. So, no, neither Rin nor Yukio ever considered that. 

Angel laughed. "I'm afraid that's impossible." He might have continued that statement with, 'There's no way people like them could ever be blessed by an angel.' But he did not.

"Why do you say that?" Kisaragi blinked at him. 

"Because-" Angel began but then stopped himself rather quickly when he remembered that he couldn't very well out them as the offspring of Satan on live television. The point of this was to set them up as heroes working under the Vatican's orders and thus allow the church to claim the credit for the save. "Because… its highly unlikely."

Angel then launched into an unnecessarily long and convoluted explanation for why the Okumura brothers' blue flame couldn't possibly have come from an angel. Admittedly, Rin didn't know much about biblical mythology, but it all sounded like bullshit to him. Angel knew he'd made a mistake by suddenly blurting out his unconscious thoughts and now he had to fix it.

Overall, the interview seemed to jump back and forth between the serious and heavy topic of the Incident, and then the lighthearted and mundane topics of school, friends, and girlfriends. Rin blushed when he admitted that he only just started dating a girl that he'd been crushing on for months. He never even told Shiemi that he'd been interested in her almost since they first met. He had a feeling she already knew. But still, it felt weird announcing it over live TV. 

Yukio -reluctantly- admitted that there was a woman he had strong feelings about. Which came as a complete shock to Rin. But he was not actually pursuing her or anyone else at the moment. Yukio was 'blissfully single and free from romantic entanglements'.

Discussion then found a middle ground between mundane and sobering with the topic of Temptaints. 

"So, as I understand it, the ability to see these demons is a side-effect of being wounded by demons. That's why almost everyone in True Cross Town can see them now. Everyone was some version of wounded during the Incident." Kisaragi began. "But you Exorcists were able to see dens before the Incident. When and how did you receive your Temptaints? -If you don't mind my asking."

Actually, they did mind her asking. But then, they also minded her asking about their personal lives and how they felt during the Incident too. 

"I've always been able to see them." Yukio was the first to answer. "They always used to scare me until my foster father suggested I train to be an Exorcist. Niisan didn't become able to see them until only this year -after the death of our foster father. Its why he wanted to become an Exorcist." 

Leave it to Yukio to find a way to answer the question truthfully and still not let slip any details they didn't want known. 

"That's so tragic!" Kisaragi seemed genuinely sympathetic. "Were you close with your foster father?"

That question always made Rin feel guilty. 

"Yes." Yukio answered. "Our mother died giving birth to Niisan and I, and our father was… not suitable to raise children. So we became wards of the church. I guess you could say we were born to fight demons." He gave one of those Yukio patent-pending disarming smiles that always made all the girls at work swoon. 

"I disagree." Rin cut in. "We don't fight demons, at least, that's not what we're supposed to do. Exorcist protect people from demons." 

"That's an interesting distinction." Commented Kisaragi. "Care to elaborate for us?"

Here? On live TV. In front of -quite literally- everyone. Rin suddenly found that he had no idea what to say or how to explain. Should he talk about his and Yukio's most recent case? With Yui-chan and her father. Neither the entity possessing him, nor the little hobgoblin who played with Yui had to be killed. But then, he didn't want to put the Ikari family's private affairs on blast for all the world to hear. He hadn't the right. But then, he couldn't talk about the Vatican's war on all things demonic that took place shortly before the Incident. That would require him to admit that it was the church that caused the Incident in the first place. 

"Uh, well… no. Not really." Rin hung his head. "Its just like with the police, ya know. They're not supposed to be beating everyone who fits a profile, they're supposed to be protecting people. Its like that. Instead of beating up demons just because they're demons, we should be protecting people from the demons that do harm."

"I see. So you think there are some demons that don't mean any harm?" That was a genuine question. Since the Incident, everyone who now saw demons was terrified and convinced that they were all the same. Aggressive, violent, harmful, dangerous. 

"There are plenty of demons that don't mean any harm!" Rin exclaimed. "There's a type of Exorcist called a 'Tamer' that summons demons to help them on cases. They can summon a demon for any reason. One of my classmates has two byakko type demons that she uses to either protect herself and her team or fend off the bad demons. And another Tamer-" here he blushed just noticeably- "she's also studying to be a Doctor type Exorcist and so her summon is a greenman that can instantly produce any kind of plant used in medicine." 

"And its safe to use these herbs made from demons? Its safe to use these demons at all?"

"Yes." Rin insisted. "But there are more friendly demons than just summons. Guardian spirits that protect old shrines and things. I have a cat sidhe that used to be a guardian of silk worms before he became my dad's familiar. Now he's my familiar. And there's a stove spirit in our dorm that cooks meals for us sometimes and its the most delicious cooking I've ever had!"

"Well, it sounds like you've got a very diverse group of friends."

"I do." Rin nodded. "And I also think that demons and humans could learn a lot from each other if more and more of us became friends."

…

"I can't believe it!" With an exclamation of frustration, Suguro put his phone down. "He's a certified Exorcist now? He still can't even tell the difference between a goblin king and David freakin' Bowie!" Then he sighed. "I suppose I should give him credit for going through the entire interview without drawing his sword or flaring up once. That's actually kinda incredible."

"Yeah. And Okumura-sensei has a crush on someone!" Shima laughed. 

"Right. Because that's the important thing to take away from this." Kamiki scoffed as she slipped her phone back into her bag. 

Shura clapped her hands twice to get everyone's attention. "Alright everyone, you've had your allotted phone time, like I promised. Now pack up your crap and get your asses down to Grimoire Literature before you're late!"

They might have commented on the fact that Rin managed to refrain from going Flame On on public television -especially since he never seemed to pass-up a chance to reveal himself in front of people before. Or on the utterly ridiculous idea that Yukio might have a woman he has 'strong feelings' about. Truth be told, none of them could imagine him with anyone. But none of those things were what they were really thinking about. 

No one commented on it out loud, but they were all thinking about Rin's idea of demons and humans being friends. All the Exwires knew it was possible. All anyone had to do was look at any Tamer keister Exorcist to know that. But Tamers like Shiemi and Izumo were just individual cases. That did not make a pattern. It did not mean that all humans and all demons could live together in harmony. It was a nice idea. But it would never be put into practice. It would never work. 

People might try. There were always gentle souls and bleeding hearts who wanted to live in harmony with everyone. 'You're a half-samoan, half-arab, eclectic neo-pagan, and you're pan-sexual? That's so interesting. Let's be friends!' But then there were also be bigoted bastards who hated everyone, even their own kind if there was something even the slightest bit different about them. 'We're both white middle aged business men. Who drive Priuses and live in the suburbs. Oh, but you cut your lawn diagonal? You're everything that's wrong with society. I hate you!' Because of people like that, Rin's idea of living in harmony with demons would never work.


	8. Evening

Since the Interview lots of things were debated. Either in private between individuals, or in public between professionals and experts. They debated the validity of the Vatican's claim that the Incident was caused by Satan (and by extension the implication that God and the Devil, and angels and demons were real, everything written in the Bible was true and that people should convert to one of the major Abramhamic faiths). They debated whether or no two children could defeat such an enemy. They debated what the blue phoenix really was. And they debated Rin's suggestion that demons and humans could get along and live together peacefully. 

It was hard to turn on the TV without seeing someone talking about it. 

Two sociologists, on channel 9, debated whether or not society was ready to live side-by-side with creatures that weren't even human when we still seemed unable to get along with each other. Channel 13 featured a special effects and pyrotechnics technician who explained how the blue-fire phoenix could have been made and executed to look real -especially on a non-professional grade camera like an iPad. Channel 128 aired an interview with Lorenz Kiel, the chairman of Seele, whom believed the Incident was only the start in a series of events that would eventually change the world. 

Kiel was very vague on the whole thing. Nothing giving much detail. He claimed that the Incident that started over True Cross Academy and spread over True Cross Town and parts of Asia and the Pacific, was the "First Impact" in an obscure prophesy laid down in the Dead Sea Scrolls. That man, by his ignorance would cause a great catastrophe and a giant of light (in this case, the gigantic blue phoenix) would appear. After the First Impact, man's blindness would be cured and they'd see for the first time with eyes unclouded that angels and apostles walked the world along side them. 

It was easy to say that things were prophesied after they happened. Goodness knew people always liked to claim that they knew X was going to happen before it did. The Wold Trade Center was supposed to be prophesied by Nostradamus. The 2011 earthquake that lead to the tsunami that hit the north-east side of Honshu and subsequently caused the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown was supposed to have been foretold months before. Every time horrible tragedy struck, there was always some schmuck trying to claim they saw it coming but no one would listen to them, blah, blah, blah. 

But then Kiel went on to say that a "Second Impact" was coming. One worse than the Incident that just occurred. Darkness would cover the world, the King who was thrown out of Paradise will return to lead Man into realizing his destiny, and a new Genesis would begin. 

Yukio turned off the TV. 

He had no patience for absurdities. 

Rin was in the kitchen, blissfully ignorant of the media storm they had wrought. Since his first date with Shiemi was one big steaming pile of fail and he never did get around to calling her to tell her he was okay, she had to find that out through the TV of all sources. He figured the best way to apologize and begin their second date would be to bring dinner over for her and her mother after they closed the supply shop for the day. 

Yukio walked in just as he was giving the sauce one final stir before deeming it done and turning off the stove. 

"Smells good." The younger commented. "What are we having?"

Rin froze, suddenly remembering. "Oh. Yeah… uh, sorry. This is for Shiemi and her mom. I, uh, I kinda forgot to make something for you. Oh! But don't worry! I think there's some instant ramen in the pantry! Or if you like I can whip up some seared tofu and vegetables."

Pinching the bridge of his nose at his elder brother's absent mindedness, Yukio sighed. "Don't bother, I can make something myself." Then he straitened as if suddenly realizing. "You're going to see Shiemi?"

"Yeah. Since our first date was kinda crap. I thought if I made dinner for her, it would make up for it. And her mom must be really burnt out from running the shop all day -what with the high demand and all right now- that she might appreciate a good home cooked meal too."

Yukio decided not to comment that it was only his second date and that it was a little to early to be buttering up his future mother-in-law -unless he planned on proposing to Shiemi next week, which in addition to being ridiculous, was also something Yukio would not allow. Marriage -and more importantly, everything that came with marriage- was something that was not in the cards for the sons of Satan. Yukio wouldn't allow it. But that was an irrelevant tangent at this stage in their lives. They were not even sixteen yet. 

"If you're going to Shiemi's, you might also want to ask her about Amahara." He suggested. 

Rin looked up at him, confused. "Uh, sure. Why?"

"Remember that demon that was possessing Ikari-san?" Yukio reminded him. "It claimed that it wasn't from Gehenna, it said it was from Amahara. Aside from Shiemi and Noihaus' wife, I've never heard anyone mention it before. It might be worth looking into. The Incident's got everyone running around crazy. People are panicked and the Order's spread thin. The last thing we need is a new type of demon running around that no one knows anything about or how to fight it."

Fishing some tupperware out of the cupboard, Rin replied, "Well, I'm not gonna pester her or anything. But if I get the chance, I will ask her." There was a beat of silence as he transferred the food from the stove to the travel containers. After a prolonged pause, "Hey, Yukio, about all that stuff that was said during the interview. About the Archangel and blue fire… did you know about that?"

Another pause. "No. No, I didn't. Since you're essentially researched Amahara for me, do you want me to look into that for you?"

"For you too!" Rin reminded him. While Yukio did a much better job of controlling his own blue flames and had not used them or even let them out since the Incident, he still had them. Being possessed by Satan awakened his demonic power. Sealing the Gate did not reseal his latent ability that had been awakened. 

"Okay, Niisan, I'll look into Michael's blue flaming sword." He nodded. "I guess I might as well look into this Valley of Benhinnom while I'm at it. I never knew there was a time before Gehenna existed, or that Gehenna was created from a piece of Assiah."

"To trap Satan." Rin nodded. 

"Yeah… to trap Satan." And for some reason Yukio's mind jumped to the TV story he'd just been watching. Of Lorenz Kiel and his insane Dead Sea Scrolls prophesy, '…the King who was thrown out of Paradise will return …' Well, even if he tried, Yukio would make sure he and Rin stopped him again. They would stop him as many times as they had to.

…

Taking the things Rin, son of the Prince of Gehenna, said to heart, Gendo tried to play a little gentler with Yui. And since both the Incident and the debacle with her father, Yui was more willing and even eager to play with him. In short, they became true and proper friends. Koyo and Souta weren't so thrilled to have the little hobgoblin staying at their house with them, but they did begrudgingly give him a doghouse in the yard. 

The neighbors weren't to thrilled about that either. It was bad enough that their world was turned upside down after the Incident. Their street filled with all manner of creatures they'd never seen before, didn't understand, and found terrifying. But having one live right next door. Not just live right next door, but be welcomed, housed, and accepted like a family pet. Like any normal dog. That was a bit much for them. Gendo became a point of contention between the Ikaris and their neighbors. 

And the feelings of adults and parents are often picked-up on my their children. 

The other boys and girls on the Ikari's street that Yui used to play with before the Incident suddenly shunned her. Not listening to her suggestions of games they could play. Refusing to let her play their games. Needless to say, this was frustrating for a little girl whom, up until that point, was most well accepted by the group. 

Like any child of that age, she blurted out her true feelings. Not only calling them meanies, but also that they were being stupid and unfair. Another kis called her stupid in return and a 'monster lover'. She said they didn't know anything about anything and that Gendo was way nicer than they were, if anyone was a monster, it was them. Then one of the kids hit her, Yui fell down, skinned her knee, and began to cry. 

Gendo reacted quickly. 

The small hobgoblin reacted the only way a demon knew how. He attacked them. They hurt his playmate, so they were enemies. The fact that they were small children was immaterial. 

Roaring, fangs dripping, claws out, he pounced on them.

The children screamed and ran. Crying for help and their mommies. Adults looked out their windows and doors. They saw a group of children being chased by a demon and arrived at the obvious conclusion. Then they did what any normal parent or person would do. They rushed outside with whatever the could find as a weapon to protect the poor kids. 

One woman smacked Gendo with an umbrella. A man came up with a baseball bat and hit him squarely on the head. The hobgoblin howled in pain. The first woman with the umbrella took the opportunity to poke him in the eye with the tip. 

"Leave these kids alone, monster!" She shouted. 

Yui came running up, ignoring the pain of her skinned knee. "Stop it!" She screamed. "Leave Gendo alone! Stop. You don't understand! Stop!"

The adults ignored her, continuing their onslaught on the hobgoblin. Others joined them. Using whatever they could find as weapons. Not just umbrellas and baseball bats, the handles of garden rakes, shovels, they threw rocks, one man even came out with a boken (wooden practice sword). Gendo might have been a demon. But he was still only one and they were many. The humans over powered him. 

"Stop! Stop it! You're gonna kill him! Help! Someone help! Stop it!"

Then there was the sound of the jingling rings of a khakkhara, a monk's staff with four small rings interlocked with one larger ring. "What's going on here?"

Yui turned to see two big kids, both wearing the same school uniform that one of the Okumuras was wearing when they came over to her house to help with her Tousama. One of them -the boy- carried a monks staff, the kind with the rings that jingle, the thing that made the sound. The girl had her hair pulled back into two pigtails, and she stood with her arms crossed over her chest. Yui didn't know them, but they weren't instantly attacking Gendo and they were wearing the same uniform that Okumura Rin wore, so Yui took a chance. 

"Help." She ran to them. "Help him! They're attacking Gendo!"

"A bunch of grown-ups attacking a kid?" The girl with the pigtails asked skeptically. 

"They don't look possessed to me, but ya never know." Said the boy. "But it never hurts to check, besides, I can never resist a lady in need." He patted Yui on the head. "Don't you worry, Little Lady, the great Shima Renzo will save your friend!"

"Idiot." The girl muttered. She pulled two pieces of paper out of her skirt pocket, pricked her finger and dabbed each little leaflet with blood. "Inari, I humbly beseech thee to grant my request."

Two white foxes materialized like mist from the circles on her paper. Demons. This girl also had demon friends. Just like Yui did. 

"Please, help him!" She pleaded. 

The boy, Shima, banged his staff on the ground a few times, making the rings on the head jingle loudly. "Hey, hey, hey!" He called at the mob. "What're you doing? Beating up on this Little Lady's friend like that! Grown-ups are supposed to protect kids!"

One of the adults from the group, the woman with the umbrella, looked up at him. Angry and defensive. "We are protecting the children!"

"This is stupid." Muttered the girl with the pigtails and the foxes. "Uke, Mike, break them up and give the kid in the middle some breathing room!"

The two foxes rushed forward. Swirling around the group, they broke up the mob. Spreading them out so that their weapons couldn't connect with their target. The one they were beating up on was revealed and both Shima and his companion were surprised to find that it wasn't a kid at all, but a demon. A small hobgoblin. 

Yui rushed to him. "Gendo! Gendo! Are you alright? Oh no!"

"Her- her friend is a demon." Shima gaped. 

"We have a friend who's a demon." The girl scoffed. She knelt down next to Yui and Gendo. "Hi, I'm Izumo. Let me look at you."

The goblin did not look good. Demons as a general rule were fairly durable and resistant to damage. But even that durability and resistance has its limits. After being bludgeoned by a horde of people all wielding blunt weapons. One of its eyes was poked out and bleeding, dark reddish-black demon blood. The other eye was intact but swollen. One arm was bent in the wrong direction. He seemed to be breathing heavily.

"Can you help him?" Yui asked.

"Well, I- I don't really know anything about how to treat a demon." Izumo admitted. "Whenever my familiars get injured, they just return to Gehenna." 

"I don't want Gendo to go away!" Yui whined. 

"Is there such a thing as a demon vet?" Shima suggested. "I mean, Exorcists use demons as familiars. There's got to be someone who knows how to treat them when they get injured."

"We'll take him to the supply shop." Said Izumo. "Moriyama might know something."

"I'm coming too!" Yui announced. Firm and resolutely. 

…

"Well, that was the best meal I've ever had." Shiemi's mother set down her chopsticks and leaned back on the heals of her hands. "Thank you for the food." Then to her daughter, she muttered -none to quietly. "Don't let go of this one. He's a keeper."

They both blushed. 

Looked at each other.

Rin gave a goofy smile. 

Shiemi smiled back. Blushed more. Then looked away. "I- I'll clear the dishes."

She stood. 

"I'll help." He stood. 

In the kitchen, Shiemi filled the sink with water while Rin stacked the dishes on the counter. The sponge was dabbed with soap, plates soaked, and together the two of them went about cleaning up after their meal. Shiemi washed, Rin dried. 

They did this together in silence for a bit before Rin asked, "Remember the day we first met?"

"Yeah." She replied. "I still feel a bit guilty sometimes, over calling you a demon. It seemed to genuinely hurt your feelings back then." 

Truth be told, up until just recently, it still would have hurt his feelings. But Rin's feelings on his demonic heritage were more resigned of late. He was half-demon (at the least) and that was just a fact of life. No amount of hurt feelings or indignation was going to change that. But it didn't bother him anymore more. Now what bothered him more was the general view of demons as creatures that were inherently bad and something to be feared or even hated. That was what he really felt strongly about now. Rin's feelings over his own demon heritage being transferred and transformed into something else. 

But that wasn't what he wanted to talk about right now. It wasn't why he brought up their first meeting. Yukio asked him to see if Shiemi could share any more information with them about Amahara. The day Rin first first met her was also the first time either of them had ever heard of the mythical garden paradise. 

"Its okay. I'm over that." He brushed off her apology. "I actually wanted to hear more about your magical garden."

She blushed daintily. "Oh, Rin, my garden's not magical. It just seems that way thanks to all the greenmen and ents who live there. They help me out and keep things thriving while I'm at Cram School or on missions."

"Ah. Um, your garden is pretty awesome. But, uh, I meant the Garden of Amahara." He clarified. Embarrassed. "I wanna hear more about Amahara. …That is, if you're willing to tell me."

Shiemi smiled. A good and true smile of pleasure. "Oh, Rin! Of course I'll tell you about the Garden of Amahara! But you have to promise not to laugh at me. Nobody else has wanted to listen to me talk about it. They all think its silly or that I'm to old for fairy tales. I haven't even told Izumo about it because I'm afraid she'll say its stupid and I'm stupid for believing in it."

"I don't think you're stupid for believing in a magical garden." He told her. "In fact, we kinda have something similar in Catholicism. The Garden of Eden. Its supposed to be like a sort of forbidden paradise."

"I've heard of Eden." She nodded. "And your forbidden fruit from the Tree of Good and Evil. I guess Amahara would be like that. But, nothing in there would be forbidden. Amahara is a place of light, and life, and abundance. Its where God, or the Creator, or whatever you want to call it, gathered all the plants in the world. All of them, even ones that don't exist anymore. And they all grow and thrive. The flowers are more fragrant and color there, and the fruits are sweeter. There's nothing bad or evil there." 

Rin smiled. "It sounds kinda like a Heaven on Earth." Then his expression turned a bit more serious. "Does anything live in Amahara? Besides plants, obviously. Are there animals there? Or people? Maybe even its own version of demons?"

"Well, I- I don't know…" She admitted. Shiemi pulled the drain stopper out of the sink to let it drain. She used Rin's kitchen towel to dry her hands. "Grandma never said anything about animals or people living in Amahara. But I'm sure there has to be bees and things there. To pollinate the flowers and make fruits and seeds and stuff. If there are bees and bugs then there might be things that eat the bugs, and so on. But I never really thought about it before." 

Rin thought about that for a sec. Shiemi didn't really know of anything that lived in Amahara besides plants. But then, she mostly only heard of the garden through her grandmother's stories. The real person to ask about it would be her grandmother, but unfortunately, she passed away before Rin even met the family. Noihaus' wife might also have known but she was also, unfortunately, dead and gone. Because of the debacle at the Ikari household, Yukio wanted him to gather information on Amahara, but Shiemi couldn't really tell then any more than she already had the day they met and the other two people who might know something were gone. This was a dead-end investigation. 

So, in classic Rin fashion, he did the only thing that made sense to him. He put the whole thing aside and instead focussed on spending time with the girl he liked. "Wanna sit outside in your garden?"

"Sure."

The sun was just setting over the trees, splashing the skies with vivid shades of red and orange. The clouds drifting overhead were a dusky shade of purple and the garden buzzed with evening insects. It was going to be a nice night. 

"Your garden is close enough to Paradise for me." Rin muttered. He took her hand in his, turning to look at her. His crystal blue eyes meeting her emerald green ones. 

She blushed. "Michelle -uh, Noihous' wife- told me my garden was what she always imagined Amahara being like. It made me so happy."

Rin smiled and leaned in. Paused. Did not finish closing the distance. "Our, uh, our first kisses weren't all that great."

"Yeah…" She agreed. Then suddenly realized that maybe she wasn't supposed to agree to that, maybe he wanted her to deny that they were disappointing and assure him that there was nothing wrong with his kisses. "But… but only because they were so sudden, you know. The first one you didn't even mean it. It was an accident. And then, the second one, you were just leaving. Then you grabbed me and… well, it was just as unexpected as the first. Better. But still so sudden."

She topped talking, deciding that maybe that wasn't exactly helping either. 

"Do you… do you wanna try kissing again?" Rin offered. "I, uh, I've never kissed a girl before that day and I'm ashamed to say that I don't really know how."

Shiemi smiled. That was something they had in common. "I've never kissed a boy before either. I don't know how to either. But we can try and learn together."

"Okay," He whispered. "I'm gonna try and kiss you again."

Rin closed the rest of the distance between them. This kiss wasn't as abrupt as the first two. He did not grab her, pull on her, or press her against himself. But he did brush his lips against hers, gentle but hesitant. But also needy and wanting. Like he wanted to deepen the kiss, wanted more, but was afraid to. Afraid of kissing her any more ardently. Afraid of scarring her off. Or maybe afraid of himself. Afraid of the savagery he was capable of when he got carried away. He didn't want to chew her face off. Shiemi parted her lips experimentally, hesitantly inviting him in. But Rin did not accept the invitation. That was when he broke the kiss. 

"See." She said. "That wasn't bad at all." She didn't have the heart to tell him that it was also boring and unexciting. Not that Shiemi was any expert on kissing, but she was pretty sure 'boring' or 'unexciting' were words you were supposed to use to describe a good kiss. Who would have though that a half-demon and son of Satan would be a bad kisser!

"I think you're probably better at it than I am." He said. 

She blushed. A lot. In fact, they might even have been able to see her from the space station, she was such a bright red. "Oh. I… well, that is… I just- I just did what I saw women do in movies. That's all."

This conversation might have continued had they not been interrupted by the garden gate suddenly being flung open and Izumo running through it with Shima carrying what looked like an injured demon. They were trailed by a little girl whom -when they got closer to the light from the house- Rin recognized as Yui. 

Yui came running up to them. "Oniichan!" She looked up at Rin. "Gendo got hurt. Can you make him better?"

Izumo and Shima came up behind her, carrying the goblin. Shima lady him down on the porch step. So that Shiemi could see his woulds -the lightest of which were already healed, the worst of which still looked pretty nasty. 

"Neither of us know anything about healing a demon. And since you're studying to become a Doctor miester, we brought him to you."

Shiemi just stood there, looking confused. 

"Uh, maybe some introductions." Rin suggested. "Shiemi, this is Ikari Yui, Yui is a member of my church. And the hobgoblin is her familiar, Gendo." Then he looked up at Izumo and Shima. "How'd he get hurt? Was Yui attacked by another demon?"

"Honestly, we don't really know what happened." Izumo supplied. "When we arrived there was a bunch of people beating him up and this girl was shouting for help. We thought they were possessed and attacking another kid. We didn't realize her friend was a demon until we defused the mob."

"Normal people did this to a goblin!?" Shiemi looked equal parts shocked, impressed, and skeptical. "Were they possessed?"

"No." Said Shima. "But there were a lot of them." 

"Please, you have to help him!" Yui cried. 

Shiemi pursed her lips, thinking. Then she stood. "I'll see what I can do. Wait here." Then she ran into the house.

Rin placed a hand on Yui's head, tousling her short hair. "Don't worry, Yui-chan, Shiemi's really good at what she does. If anyone can fix Gendo-kun, she can."

They waited in silence for a few moments. When it became apparent that Shiemi wasn't going to reappear mere seconds after she went into the house, Shima decided to take the opportunity to state an observation. "So… you're over here awfully late. A bit to late to just be picking up exorcism supplies."

"Yeah…" Rin raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he was using such a conspiratory voice. What was he supposed to be suggesting exactly? "We had dinner together. I cooked for her and her mother." A hesitant pause, then with defiant pride and stubborn conference, "She's my girlfriend!" He still liked the sound of that. Referring to Shiemi as his girlfriend. The idea was still new to him. Novel and exciting. But, it also made him feel self-conscious and scared. Like maybe they would think he wasn't good enough for her, or maybe that he shouldn't have a girlfriend at all seeing as how he carried the blood of the devil in his veins. It was to just be friends, but anything more than that might be dangerous. So, Rin quickly changed the subject. "Why were people attacking Gendo?"

"We were playing." Yui explained. "Then one of the other kids was mean to me. Gendo stood up for me and made the other kid cry. But when the grown-ups came out they didn't wanna listen to me and just assumed that it was all Gendo's fault and they started beating him up." A brief sob. "They didn't wanna hear our side of the story. They just wanted to hurt him cause he was a demon. Its not nice. Its not fair! Gendo didn't do anything wrong. It was the other kid who was bad. Not Gendo!"

Rin sighed. "Yui-chan, I'm sorry to say that that's the way a lot of people think. People make assumptions based on how people look or dress, the color of their skin or who their parents are. Sometimes when their assumptions are proven wrong they'll admit it and get to know the person better, maybe even become friends. But other times, they refuse to accept anything that contradicts their original assumption. They think that just because a person is fat they are lazy, or just because a person is Latino they're a thief, or just because someone's a demon they're evil. Its called 'prejudice', and its a very bad thing."

"Can we stop it?" The little girl asked.

"Maybe." Rin nodded. "With time and education. It might be possible." 

"But we're probably gonna be seeing a lot more incidents like this one before that happens." Izumo said. "Social change like what you're talking about doesn't happen very easily or very fast."


End file.
